Dragon's Essence
by rgm566
Summary: One day an ex-soldier discovers a wounded woman in his bed. After learning about the atrocities being committed against a certain group of people by the king he set's out to help the resistance to put a stop to the madness. But why did the king suddenly go mad? What is the king's goal? Follow him in his quest to stop the mad king.


**Dragon's Essence**

The dragon was on the brink of death. It was breathing heavily and covered in blood. Using its remaining strength it started to fly off, retreating so it could live another day, I wasn't going to let that happen. I too was beaten up badly, but with my remaining energy I picked up a spear and let it fly, it finds its target and strikes the dragon in the heart. I dropped to my knee; the dragon let out a death roar and started plummeting out of the sky, right at me. I was too weak to move, all I could do was watch as my fate slowly close in on me. I closed my eyes and waited for my end.

My eyes sprang open, I was still alive and in my room. It was just a nightmare, but started to panic when I realized it was hard to breath and move. The first thought that crossed my mind was I somehow became paralyzed and was suffering some unknown lung disease. That theory went out the window when I realized I could still feel all my limbs, but started too slightly panic because I still was having trouble breathing. There was something lying on top of me.

After what seemed like forever, I started to regain my composure. I was in no immediate danger, I started thinking clearly. The first thing I noticed was that my right shoulder and chest were wet. Then came the whimpering next to my head, whatever it was it was alive and in pain. I could feel what seemed to be arms wrapped around me. I managed to pull an arm free and felt around; the back of the figure was wet. I brought my hand to my face and saw red, it was bleeding.

The mysterious figure was human, or human shaped, and was in bad shape. Panic turned into worry. As gently as I could I removed myself from my bed and ran to the bathroom. I got a wet towel to wipe the blood then went and got the first aid kit. I decided to keep the light off for fear of what I was actually treating. Luckily I'm fairly skilled at treating wounds. The figure only had one wound, a long gash on its back. It was big but wasn't deep so I was pretty confidant I could easily treat it. First I wiped off the blood, and then I began to dress the wound. The patient's clothes were in the way. They were already pretty torn so I didn't hesitate in removing its shirt.

It was when I was wrapping the bandage around the body when I noticed that its skin wasn't human. It was still soft and smooth, but there was no hair anywhere besides its head. In fact its skin had a scale like texture, but I was too focused on patching up the wound that it didn't occur to me that my mystery visitor wasn't human.

I notice it was still whimpering. I sat down beside it and brushed its hair, which seemed to calm it down. I could start to make out some facial features. It had a snout; like a dogs except not as big, where it's nose and mouth should be; and the ears were more pointed. My mystery guest could be some sort of reptile person; they do exist but most live near swamps or in hotter climates so it's odd that one would be this far north.

The mystery creature's whimpers turned into sniffles then slow breaths. I grabbed a tissue and wiped its face. I found how I was acting to be odd, especially with the past I had. It started to wake up, it's breathing started to pick up and it jolted awake. It was able to see me through the dark it panicked and backed up against the wall and started whimpering again.

"P...please. Please don't hurt me. Stay back or I'll...ugh!" it shouted in pain, rather she shouted. The voice was definitely female. By the way she reacted I guessed she thought she was still being attacked. "Please don't hurt me." She said again and started crying.

"Shh," I started to coax her, "I'm not going to hurt you. It's okay you're safe now." I got closer to her. She seemed to calm a bit but she still was afraid. I myself was afraid so I just held out my arms, inviting her for a hug since hugs fix everything. She hesitated, then leapt into my arms and started crying, which I expected. However I did not expect her to bite my shoulder. She had sharp teeth and they were digging into my skin. I wanted to pry her off but decided against it, she was in pain and for some reason this makes her feel safe or something like that. Logic, it's sometimes very painful.

Several agonizing minutes later she finally calmed down, "Feel better now?" I said in a pained tone. She sniffled and nodded.

"Thank you sir...but...but why help me? I thought your kind hates my kind?" she said.

"I'm sorry, but I don't even know what you look like." I reached for the lamp and turned it on. I gasped at the girl, and then understood what she meant. She was a dragonkin, a dragon the size and shape of a human. Her skin was a light green and what clothes she still had on were very torn. As for the reason our kinds are at odds, that story has been lost in the sands of time, some say it's because they were created from some taboo magic, others say it's just because they look similar to us but aren't. "That explains why you freaked out. Look, I don't care about what race you are, you're just lucky you found yourself with me anyone else wouldn't have been so nice." I said.

She noticed that I was clutching my shoulder and gasped, "I'm sorry, for biting you. It's just...when you started comforting me I felt so safe, like you were one of us. So I just..." She looked at the ground; I put my non-bloody hand on her shoulder and smiled at her.

"Don't worry about it; I'm just glad you're alright. By the way my name is Jacob. What's yours?" I said.

"Mira, thank you Jacob." she replied. Now that she'd calmed down I decided to ask about what happened.

"There was a gash on your back, where'd it come from? What happened?" I asked. She sat there for a bit then took a deep breath.

"Bandits, they raided my town and started killing everyone. It was a massacre, only a handful of people were able to escape. I was able to get away quickly, but my family...they...they..." She started to cry again.

"It's okay; you don't need to talk about it. You can bite my other shoulder if you need to cry again." I kindly said to her, hoping she wouldn't. She shook her head and gave out a small chuckle. "Okay. How did you get in here anyway, by the way you had your arms wrapped around me it seems like you knew I was someone that would help." I asked.

"Well...I don't know. I was just drawn to your house. I think your bedroom window was open so that's how I got in." She said.

"Okay. So now what? What are you going to do now?" I asked, all she did was shrug so I offered a suggestion, "Maybe you should go back to see if there are any other survivors."

She looked at me, "Are you crazy, what if the bandits are still there! I can't defend myself!" She exclaimed.

"I can," I said, "My dad was a knight; he taught me how to use a sword. I can escort you there." I offered.

"Really?" she said, "But why, we've only just met and you've already helped out so much." She asked.

"Because, my family was also taken by bandits. I know what you're going through. Back then I wasn't able to do anything to fend them off, but now that I'm older I can. And besides, I want to help." I replied. Mira looked forward and nodded. "Great! But firsts things first, you need new clothes. You can barrow some of mine, although I don't know if they'll fit you too well." I got up and opened my dresser, took out some pants and a tee-shirt and handed them to her. She immediately started to strip off her torn clothes before I could turn around. I quickly turned in embarrassment.

"What's wrong Jacob? Your face is all red." Mira asked.

"You're a girl! I can't watch you change its impolite!" I quickly replied.

"Well you're going to have to; these clothes weren't meant for dragonkin. I need you to make holes for me." She said. I didn't think about that, so I manned up and helped her. I got some scissors and she handed me the pants, problem was I didn't know how big to make the hole.

"Could...could you...um...turn for me? I uh...need to see how wide your tail is." I reluctantly asked. She turned and I made a rough estimate on how big to make it. Luckily I wasn't too far off and it fit just fine. Next I made slits big enough to fit her wings through, which was easier to do because she's able to fold her wings so the cuts didn't have to be so big. By the time I'd finished my face was as red as a tomato. Before going I decided to let her rest, I first changed the bloody sheets of course.

I left the room and started feeling a pain of guilt; I lied to her about how I knew how to wield a sword. My father wasn't a knight, I was. When I was sixteen my town was raided by marauders and my parents died protecting me. It was then I decided to get revenge, and the way I thought I could do that was to join the knights, they are a band of people who protect the land when the army can't deploy fast enough, or so I thought. I was in the knights for six years, and with each passing year I realized two things. One was that the king doesn't care about his subjects. The big one, however, was the fact that we weren't any different from bandits. Sure, we helped out towns, but they were just human towns. If it was a creature town, animals with human like features, or anything not human we would raid them. At first I took no part in them, but slowly I began to thirst for blood.

It was the last raid when I realized I had become the murderers I swore to kill. It was a dragonkin village, I joined the group in killing the guards and once they were dead we started raiding the innocent villagers. It was the first house; I broke in and searched for the family. They were in a bedroom, huddled in a corner. I was about to strike when I saw the terrified look in their eyes, the same faces my parents had when they died. I dropped my sword, and instead of just leaving I helped them escape. I helped three other families escape, but no matter what I did I could never shake the guilt of all the blood I had spilled. The real reason I decided to help her was because I wanted to stop running, and do some good to atone for my sins.

It's been three years since I'd wielded a sword, so before I gathered my things I practiced a bit, I still got it. Besides my sword and shield, I had a bag packed with food and my larger first aid kit. I also got out my communication crystals. I guess I forgot to mention the fact that almost everything runs on magi-crystals. Through the years we've learned how to use and 'modify' them for different uses. I rummaged through my old chest of knight gear, and pulled out a power glove, a glove with a strength enhancing crystal imbued within it.

It was still early in the morning and I wanted to leave before other people get up. I woke up Mira and we ate a quick breakfast. Lucky for me I sort of knew where her town was, and it wasn't too far from here, only 5 miles. I had a bike I could use, but Mira was still too sore to fly or walk. I had to carry her for half the trip, if I hadn't brought that glove I wouldn't have been able to do such a task. She was still tired from her ordeal so she was asleep most of the way. When she woke up she insisted on walking the rest of the way. With a little help I gave her we walked to her town in silence.

When we saw the smoke we rushed towards the town and stopped at the entrance. Much of the town was in ruins. Windows smashed, houses burned, bodies in the street. I turned to her and saw her shaking, "I don't think they're here anymore. If you want to close your eyes just hold my arm and stay close." I reassured her, and for a bit she did. It seemed that there were no survivors in the houses we checked, and then we reached her house. She ran inside and searched. She came out, a sullen look on her face. "Here take this; I'll search the rest of the town. You can stay here for as long as you need to. If you need me just talk into the crystal and I'll come and get you." I said, she took the crystal and headed back inside.

After several houses I came upon a church like building. I entered and called out, "Hello! Is there anyone here?" I then heard a moan in the corner. I ran to the noise and found two dragonkin, one was grey and old and the other was tan and young. The old one was severely injured, and the younger one was hovering over him.

He heard me run up to them and without warning he attacked, "I won't let you kill the elder!" he yelled and latched onto my arm like an attack dog.

"Ahh!" I yelled in pain, "Get off me! I'm not here to kill anyone! Let go!" I could have hit him off, but that would only make things worse. Instead I looked at the older one in hopes he'd call him off, he did.

"It's alright child, this human doesn't come to do us harm." he said weakly. The young one slowly let go and backed off. Ignoring my own wound I walked over to the elder and got out my med kit.

"Where are you injured, I'll have you patched up in no time." I said, but he shook his head.

"I fear it's too late. I've lost too much blood, but you could help the others. They are hidden in the basement." He coughed up blood; I saw the life drain from his eyes. I could hear the young one crying. Without facing him I asked him to show me to the others, he did without any resistance. There were 4 other survivors, and like the young dragonkin they were weary of me, but I was able to convince them to let me help. Luckily it seemed that they escaped nearly unscathed.

"Jacob!" Mira was talking through her crystal, and she was panicking. "Please, come quickly! They're back!" I made a quick reply and rushed off. When I arrived there was no one in sight so I rushed into the building. I found Mira in a bedroom, when she saw me she pointed out a window. I snuck up to it and overheard talking.

"Why do we have to come back, we've already looted the place." a rough voice complained.

"The boss said we didn't get what he was looking for, an essence. There is supposed to be one of those beasts that have one." another responded. There were only two, and my fear became reality, I recognized these voices. I turned to Mira.

"Mira I'll need you to cover your ears and stay in here. I'll be right back." I commanded. She did so and I left. The two men had their backs to me. "I'm going to say this once. Get out of here if you don't want to die." I demanded.

They spun around and drew their swords. "Well well. It's the deserter, Jacob. You know, the boss has offered a bounty on your head. Since we can't find what we're looking for we'll just kill you instead." They started charging at me which I easily sidestepped. The fight ended as soon as it began, one of them swung at me. I parried and stabbed him through the heart. The other attacker tried to get me from behind but I was too fast and circled around him. With a stab to the back he was finished.

I returned to Mira and we walked back to the church. "We need to gather the survivors and get out of here. More will come when the men they sent don't return." I told her on the way back.

"There's another town not too far, we can go there." She suggested. With a plan set we gathered the few survivors and headed out. It was a silent trip to the town, called Riverton. When we approached the city gates we were stopped by a guard, "What business do you have here human?" the guard asked.

"These people were attacked by the knights. They had sent a scout party that I dealt with, I gathered the survivors and fled here before their attackers came back to investigate why their troops didn't return." I replied, not noticing I gave away who exactly attacked the town.

"Another raid? At least there're survivors this time. Follow me, I'll take you to the elder." the guard said. He turned and started leading us to the elder. I was thinking about what he said, from the looks of things the knights have been raiding a lot more than usual. Even though it was none of my concern, I still wanted to look into it.

The place where the elder was in the middle of town. The building was as big as a government building, maybe a bit smaller. We were directed to a chamber of sorts and sitting behind a desk was an old dragonkin. He seemed to glance over me and said, "Now what do we have here?"

The guard spoke, "Survivors sir. Their town was raided by the knights."

"Oh dear," the elder responded, "Bring them to the inn, they should have more than enough spare rooms. We'll figure out housing accommodations later." The guard nodded and we started to head out. I was behind the group and before I left the room the elder said, "I would like to have a word with you, human." Mira heard this and looked worried, but I reassured her that it'll be fine and she left.

I walked back to the elder, "You wanted to speak to me sir?" I said.

"I know who you are, Jacob." he started, I shifted uncomfortably. He continued, "Indeed I do. A victim, a helper, a savior," his face darkened, "a murderer."

"How...how do you know about that?" I nervously said.

"I can see your past just by looking into your heart." He replied. I stood there silently. "Do you know why the knights have been raiding more towns, Jacob? It because they're looking for these." The elder holds out his hand and a white light comes out of it.

"What is it?" I asked.

"The essence of a fallen dragonkin. A source of great power, the knights are gathering them for the king's army. Rumor has it that they are preparing to kill off anyone who isn't human, genocide." This information took me aback, the elder put the essence into my hand, "What the king doesn't know it that only a select few can hold it. If it is given to one who cannot wield its power the person will transform into a dragon and will start killing anything it sees." it took a bit before I realized what he was saying.

"So you mean, I am one of those few?" I asked.

He nodded, "Yes. You are one of those few. I give you this because I'm asking for your help, the king has gone mad with power and he has been neglecting the subjects within his kingdom. There is a rebel group that has risen to meet the task, and could use your help."

Without any hesitation I said, "I'll do it."

"Your help will be much appreciated. Now, hold the essence to your heart." the elder told me.

I slowly brought the white light towards my heart; it suddenly jumped inside of me. "Agh!" I yelled. It felt like my entire being was changing. It only lasted a few seconds and by the end of it I noticed that nothing had changed on the outside, but instead I felt like there was something hiding inside me. "What...happened?" I asked.

The elder shook his head, "I don't know. This is the first time in hundreds of years that a human was able to successfully absorb an essence." The elder reached under the desk and handed me a special looking sword, "Here, this sword was created for those who could use an essence." I unsheathed the sword; there were several types of crystals imbedded into the hilt and strange writing on the blade.

Before I could examine it further a familiar voice erupted from the communication-crystal. "Jacob! Jacob please answer!" It was Mira.

I lifted my crystal to my face, "I'm here. What's wrong?"

"The guards say they spotted a group of armed men coming this way. They're saying it's the Knights!" she frantically said.

Dammit, I thought to myself. I knew they would find us. "Okay, tell the guards to get some men to bring the townsfolk to the center. The rest should keep an eye on the approaching group; I'll be joining them shortly." I directed.

"Okay, but what about me?" Mira asked.

"Get to the center like everyone else. And don't worry, I'll be fine." I reassured.

"But...Okay I'll do it." She complied. I put the crystal in my pocket and ran to the gate the enemy was approaching from.

I arrived there in a matter of minutes. I asked around for the captain and eventually found him. He was built, muscles as big as a loaf of bread. "What's the situation?" I asked.

He gave me a look over before answering, "The Knights are at the gate. They are demanding that we give up something called an essence."

"Even if we did give them what they want they still will kill everyone, that's just how they operate. I have a plan, how many men do you have and how many do they have?" I informed.

"We got 30 men ready to fight, but we are outnumbered. They have at least 50 at their disposal." He responded. The odds were stacked against us, but I had a plan.

"Okay here's the plan. Get your absolute, top-notch sword fighters out in the field. The rest should be armed with bows. I'll also be out there. When I give a signal I want the archers to release a barrage of arrows, after that have them watch for anyone trying to get close." He stood there, thinking about my plan.

He looked at me with a concerned look, "I don't have many grand sword fighters, maybe five. Also, why all the archers?"

"Your troops would be massacred if they fought them head on. With many archers we have a better chance to fend them off." I gave him a hard look, "I know how they operate. Don't ask how, you'll probably find out anyway. Just trust me." He didn't object, we gathered the troops and gave them their posts.

I insisted that the captain should stay back, but he was persistent and came out anyway. We, seven soldiers, walked out to confront the foes. As I had feared, I was instantly recognized by the leader. "So you finally decided to show your face, Jacob."

"Leave this place. I know what you're here for and I won't let you have it. You have this one chance Garret." I negotiated. Garret, the boss's right hand man, after I left.

"Ha! You forget our number one rule, no mercy. You know, the boss has a hefty price on your head. Leading those dragonkin to safety and disappear into hiding. What I don't understand is why you left; you were quite the cold blooded killer when you were with us. What changed?" He responded. I knew he wouldn't listen.

Ignoring his question I said, "You leave me no choice," I raised one of my two swords and yelled, "Fire!" and a barrage of arrows flew through the sky taking out at least 15 men. They were momentarily dazed and that's when I called the charge. I was in the lead and was the first to attack. I had hoped my murderous feelings would have left me but as soon as I started fighting I felt myself slipping. My attacks became more and more aggressive; these poor men didn't stand a chance. My flurry of attacks was like a dance, dodging, parrying, stabbing, it was a blood bath. In no time I had mowed down 20 men, leaving them with 15 at my count.

I caught glimpses of the other soldiers. I was surprised to see them holding their own, but not against Garret. I spotted one soldier on the ropes; luckily I was able to get to him before the final blow was dealt, "You fall back!" I ordered. I turned and kicked Garret away.

"How dare you get in my way, you're going to pay for that!" He yelled and then lunged at me. The battle went on; it was just me and Garret, no one giving an inch. We locked swords, "You're dead!" Garret yelled and stunned me. I didn't have time to fully evade the attack; with a quick jab he put a gash in my side. The pain was unbearable, I fell my knee in defeat. Garret slowly walked towards me, "It seems you've lost your touch, traitor. Now, face your judgment!" he raised his sword, time slowed down.

Drained of all my strength I could do nothing but await deaths cold grasp. Suddenly I heard a faint whisper. I couldn't make out any words but when it finished I felt a sudden burst of energy flow through me, time started returning to normal. Garret swung down at me, but with lightning quick reflexes I lifted my two swords and stopped his attack. Garret stumbled back in surprise. I slowly rose to my feet, and charged. My speed had doubled, and unleashing a barrage of attacks Garret could only block.

I was able to disarm him and knock him on the ground. He looked at me, terror in his eyes, and said, "Wha...What are you!?" I said nothing and slowly walked towards him. He got up and turned to flee, but he didn't get far. I cocked my arm back and with incredible aim threw the sword, stabbing him in the back. He fell over, dead. I walked over to him and retrieved my sword, wiped off the blood, then sheathed the blade. The battle was over, 50 men came to raid the town, and 50 men were killed. We, on the other and, we're left with only wounded. I turned and walked back to the town. My walk soon turned into a wobble, then a limp, and as I reach the gates I doubled over and passed out.

I was in a bed when I came to. It took only a few seconds before I was writhing in pain. My side was stitched up and wrapped in bandages. I couldn't get up or move much without pain shooting through my body. I heard voices in the distance, though; I couldn't make out what they were saying. I decided to rest some more because I couldn't do anything anyway. I fell back into a deep sleep and when I woke up again there were people surrounding me. "He's awake! Thank gods you're okay." I slowly turned my head and saw Mira, holding my hand, the other people in the room left.

"What's up? You look like something's troubling you?" I weakly asked. The expression on her face turned sad. I was expecting the worse.

"Is...Is it true, Jacob?" She asked sullenly.

"You overheard what was said during the battle through the crystal, didn't you?" I guessed. She slowly nodded and I sighed painfully, "I hoped to keep my past hidden from you. In fact I was hiding it from myself. Now that you have learned a bit of my past, I might as well come clean." I started explaining my story to her, my entire story. When I finished I looked at the ceiling and said, "I won't blame you if you don't trust me anymore. You can even hate me if you want. I do regret everything I did back then, but it's no use trying to forget. I can't change the past." I finished. I heard Mira turn and run out of the room.

As she left I heard someone else come in. The visitor walked over to my bed and sat in a chair next to my bed. "I'm guessing you told her the truth." It was the elder.

"Yeah." I sighed, "You think she'll ever trust me now. I mean, I wouldn't trust me either. For some reason it hurt telling her the truth, and I don't know why."

"It's because you still can't let go of your past. You want to know what I think. I think that you are a good man that got lost on the dark path of revenge. Give her some time, for now you must rest." the elder got up and left.

I couldn't sleep at all and by midnight I'd given up all hope of rest. Oddly enough I felt immensely better so I got up, put on my clothes and took a walk. My mind was racing with thoughts and worries. For one, I couldn't shake the feeling I was being watched. Then came the worry of the Knights inevitable return, and their next assault would be too big to fend off. What I couldn't understand is why they haven't already sent more troops. It was my feeling of being followed that made me figure it out, the Knights special group, assassins. They must have had a scout watching the battle from afar and when he spotted me he ran back to report. I'm the reason they haven't attacked with a larger force.

Acting as casual as I could I start heading towards the guard house. I then leaned up against a wall and closed my eyes, concentrating on any irregular sounds. I heard my pursuer close in on me; I waited until he was right up on me. He finally was right next to me, I gave a little laugh, "You're going to need to do better than that to sneak up on me." I quickly faced my silent foe; he was armed with the oldest assassin tool in the book, a steel dagger. I on the other hand was unarmed, but that didn't worry me one bit, "Even with my injuries I can still easily take you down. Come at me!" I taunted.

The assassin was happy to oblige. He ran at me and started jabbing at me with his dagger. I was dodging, waiting for a chance to disarm him. I figured out his pattern and with the next attack he did I swiftly unarmed him. I wanted to keep him alive, so with three punches to the gut and an uppercut to top things off I defeated my foe. I was glad I still had my power glove on.

I picked the assassin up with one arm and questioned him, "I know there are more of you. Where are they? Who are your targets? Tell me and I might let you live." I stared at him as menacingly as possible.

"Survivors." the assassin coughed. It appeared I'd overdone it because he quickly fainted after saying that. I dropped him in front of the guardhouse and ran to where the survivors were the inn. On my way there I saw some more assassins running across the rooftops towards the inn, but it seems they didn't notice me. I arrived at the inn right as the assassins were entering; being as quiet as possible I snuck in as quietly as possible.

The inn was more like a hotel but just not as big. I already knew where all the survivors were, all in a room next at the far end. Lucky for me the assassin didn't know so I had a head start. I arrived at the area they were resting in, but as I did I saw an assassin walk in so I silently rushed in after him. I spotted him hovering over someone; I quickly recognized it was Mira. I stopped being stealthy and ran up behind him before he could kill her. Mira must have heard me because right before I put the attacker in a choke hold she let out a scream. I quickly dispatched of the assailant, but Mira was still scared and started whimpering. "Shhh, calm down I'm here." Her screaming had woken up the other survivors, and no doubt alerted the other assassins of their locations. I had to think fast, "Everyone, there are assassins on their way. I can take them out but I need you to pretend to sleep. I'll tell you when you should get under the beds; I need you to trust me." Silently, they complied.

I hid next to the door and waited. They arrived in a matter of seconds, and I was ready. The first one slowly walked in right past me. I struck him right in the back of the head instantly knocking him out. Three more rushed in, armed with knives, and came right at me. They were well coordinated and fast, I had trouble dodging. I was able to win with just a few cuts. No one else came through the door so I relaxed a bit. A loud crash caught me off guard.

They had broken in through the window at the far end of the room, and they had bows. "Everyone, get down!" I yelled to the people in bed and in and instance they were down on the ground, everyone except Mira. She was sitting up in her bed starring at the attackers, paralyzed with fear. The assassins were momentarily confused, looking for a target, one looked right at Mira. "Mira get down!" I pleaded but she wouldn't respond. I ran as fast as I could and jumped in front of her, "Agh!" I cried as an arrow hit me in the back. "Get down!" I yelled, Mira snapped out of it and hid under the bed.

With everyone out of the line of fire I turned to face the assassins. I ran at the one that shot me and choke slammed him to the ground. I was hit with two more arrows, one in the shoulder and the other in my leg. I stumbled back but quickly regained my balance and ran at the two foes. I reached the first one before he could shoot another arrow and somehow managed to pick him up and throw him at the other one. I didn't hear him come up behind me, a sudden sharp pain in my back and I was on the floor. Two assassins had entered the room unnoticed and got the jump on me.

I couldn't move, my vision went blurry and my breathing started to fade. I saw two figures walk past me and towards someone who was yelling at me. My hearing was fading, the person's words just out of reach. The two figures were almost on top of the yelling person. My vision became clear for a moment, long enough to see who was yelling. It had been Mira, and before my vision blurred I saw her mouth two words, get up.

It felt as if someone else took control of my body. I could see and feel what I was doing but had no control over my actions. With incredible speed I was upon the attackers. They spun around quickly to face me but that's all they could do. I threw a mighty uppercut at one of them and he flew up on impact. I hit the second one in the chest so hard I felt his ribs break. What I didn't feel was his knife in my chest, at least not until a few moments after. I started to regain control of my body and felt all of the wounds I had sustained. I coughed up blood and saw the knife in my chest. I started falling, all my senses started fading, and the last thing I heard was Mira yelling, "Jacob!" I hit the ground and started bleeding out, soon I went unconscious.

I was falling, nothing but darkness surrounding me. Whether I was dead or still alive, I could not tell. I couldn't move. I felt myself falling faster but going nowhere. I saw a light in the darkness approaching fast, and as I got closer I started slowing down. I was almost right next to it when faded, a mirror taking its place. I slowly passed by, facing the mirror I could barely make out a reflection. The only thing that stood out was a pair of glowing eyes, one red the other yellow, staring blankly at me. It was nearly impossible to even make out a full outline, but even so I could tell that whatever was staring back in the mirror was not me. The mirror vanished and a blinding light washed over me.

When I opened my eyes I was back in the room with the survivors, people were surrounding me, Mira wasn't there. My breathing slowly returned along with my mobility. I slowly rose to a sitting position and as I did so a collective gasp filled the room. I heard them mumbling amongst each other, saying things along the lines of the fact that I should be dead. The gravity of the scene didn't sink in until I looked around me, arrows were sticking out me and the stab wound that was in my chest was still bleeding. But thing is that it seemed to have closed up quite a bit, but nobody noticed that because of the big pool of blood I was sitting in.

I looked into the crowd and noticed the concerned and confused gazes looking at me, so I said, "I think...I think I'm alright everyone. But I'm more worried about you all, is anyone injured?" A quick inspection showed that I'm the only one who was injured. I suggested someone go get the guards and some towel to clean up my blood, a few rushed out. The towels arrived rather quickly, I wanted to clean it up myself so I asked if they could leave the room for a few moments and they complied.

Once they left I got to clean up the mess. Luckily the blood hadn't dried so it only took a few towels to mop it up, and someone had brought a bucket of cleaning fluid so I could thoroughly clean it up. I grabbed a towel and got to work on the real reason I wanted them to leave. One by one I pulled out the arrows and tossed them aside. I couldn't reach the one on my back so I just left it there. The guards arrived a few moments later looking a bit flustered by the bodies lying across the floor.

"Not all of them are dead, I think. Just make sure to check." I told them as I limped my way out of the room. I limped my way outside into the cold night air and started my search for Mira. I headed to the room I had stayed in and grabbed a change of clothes. I had somehow forgotten the arrow in my back and with a stroke of genius I figured a way to get it out. I used the door to hold the arrow in place and walked forward pulling it out of my back. Once that ordeal was done with I put on a new shirt, which was quickly getting stained in the back, and headed out.

I eventually found her sitting against a tree staring off into the night sky. I could tell she was crying because the moonlight was reflecting off her falling tears. I limped my way towards her, she hadn't noticed me yet so I struggled on what to say. You can't just say hey to someone who watched you supposedly get killed. "If you need a shoulder to bite mine are open." I was a bit sad by the fact that's the only thing I could come up with. Even so it still worked.

Her head quickly looked in my direction; she still couldn't see me so I got a little closer. When she saw me a look of disbelief covered her face, "Jacob?" she slowly asked. I nodded my head and she started to get up, but she quickly sat back down and looked at me with conflicting emotions.

"What's wrong, Mira? You look like you've got something on your mind." I asked. She shifted uncomfortably and started to say something but stopped. "You can tell me anything you know."

"You were a monster once before. How am I supposed to trust you won't do the same again?" she blurted.

"I guess you can't. I've done bad things, Mira. I have long feared that my sins would come back and haunt me. And the cost would be more than I could take." I signed. "Like I said before, I don't expect you to trust me. However, I made a decision to help put an end to this."

"Why? Why help what you sought to destroy?" She was nearly balling at this point.

I knelt down in front of her, "You must have not been paying attention to my story. I never sought to become a murderer, I wanted revenge. Ironically, my thirst for revenge turned me into the monster I wanted to kill. Unfortunately even after I left and went into hiding I seem to still have that part of me inside." I paused hoping for her to reply, but she remained silent. I was sitting now and all out of things to say, except one thing. "We're not that different."

She glared at me, "How so?" she demanded.

"Both of our parents have been murdered. And...Well, that's all I can think of. The point is..." I fidgeted, "What I wanted to say is."

Mira was looking right at me, "What?"

It's not in my nature to beat around the bush so I decided to be directed, "I need you with me." Mira was shocked at the comment. Realizing I was to blunt, I quickly said, "I mean, I need someone to keep me in check. Or something like that. I'm here for you."

We sat there, staring at each other in silence. With no response I got up and started to walk away when I felt her grab my hand. "Wait." she said, I turned around and she stood up. I stood there and waited for her to continue but instead I got punched in my stab wound. Normally that wouldn't have hurt. However I still nearly doubled over. I regained balance and stared at her. She was angry, but also crying.

She kept hitting me in various areas, and I just waited for her to calm down. It lasted a minute, and she had dealt more damage that the assassins did. "Are you finished?" I asked rather weakly. She lowered her fists and gave a slight nod. I waited for anything else she may say, and then started to limp away.

"Ja...Jacob..." she mumbled. I turned slowly and prepared for another assault, but it never came. She stood there for a moment, then ran to me and stopped a few feet in front of me. She grabbed her arm and asked, "Is...will you let...even though I still beat you up, could I...I...um." I gave a weak smile and nodded. I stretched out my arms and she ran into them, streams of tears running down her face. I grimaced as she bit down on my good shoulder. She may be as old as I am, but she still was like a scared child that needs someone. With more blood lost than a dead guy I started to wobble. Lucky for me Mira had un-latched herself and I was able to wobble a bit until completely falling over, I quickly blacked out.

I was in the hospital for five days. And in those five days word of me saving the town attracted the attention of the rebel leader. He was a creature, a lion by the ever so creative name Leo. When he first visited me he socked me upside the head. I rubbed my new injury and said, "I'm guessing you also know of my past." He growled and left the room. The next day his second in command, a dragonkin named Dan, visited me.

"You here to hit me to?" I asked with a smirk.

He shook his head, "I'm more forgiving than others. And besides, by the reports you've already suffered for your crimes. I read that you have technically died twice, once from a stab wound and the other from extreme blood loss." he said in a professional tone.

I gave a slight laugh, "No...I died long before then." I paused then laughed again, "Man, I need to stop that. I sound so pathetic. Anyways, is there a reason you came?"

"Yes, we were wondering if you could lend your aid to the rebel army." he asked.

"As long as I'm not constantly getting concussions from your leader I'm glad to help." I nodded. He smiled then left. Soon I was well enough I got out of the hospital. I had to use a cane to help me balance for a bit, and Mira poked fun at it saying that I looked old. I responded with "I feel old." and we started laughing. Once again I was struck with the feeling of being watched. "Mira," I whispered, "There's someone following us. I think I know what they want. Don't look worried it's probably one of the rebel's spies 'testing' me. Go on ahead I'll just be a minute." Mira gave me a playful punch in the shoulder and went ahead.

I stood there and leaned on my cane, "You know, it's rude to stalk people." I said aloud, "So, you got a bone to pick with me as well? Or is it something else?" For a moment there was no answer, and then a female cheetah leapt out of an alleyway and right at me. I quickly raised my cane and blocked her assault. She jumped back; I noticed that she was wielding a wooden sword so I knew why she was here. I leaned on my cane and said, "I see, well have at me."

She ran at me with amazing speed, which was the only thing going for her. Her technique was sloppy, her attacks easy to dodge, she was a novice at best. She was beaten rather quickly by disarming her. She backed away and started growling at me, "Why you, jerk." I was taken aback by her comment.

"I'm the jerk? You attacked me." I said, offended.

"Well you didn't have so rough. I could tell you knew I was outmatched." she said rubbing her arm.

"Okay I'm sorry. I have to go meet someone, so bye." I turned around and started walking away.

"Hey, I'm not done with you!" she yelled.

"Sorry but I gotta go. If you really want to fight me I'm free after the meeting." I yelled back. I heard her complaining behind me, and I have no doubt that she will take me up on that offer. The meeting was at the tavern, when I got there Mira was standing outside. She said they wouldn't let her in, even at my request they still wouldn't let her in.

There weren't many people around the table, just the leader, his second in command, and the elder. The second the leader, Leo, saw me he started glaring at me. I ignored it and sat down across from Dan, just out of reach of Leo's punches.

"Thank you for coming Jacob. We're glad you are willing to lend us your aid." Dan said.

"I'm not." Leo scoffed, "Explain to me why we're letting this monster help us!" He demanded.

"Leo calm yourself. We've already discussed why, and you agreed." Dan reasoned.

"That was before I knew who he was. You're the only reason I'm tearing this guy apart!" Leo snarled.

Dan was going to say something in my defense but I interrupted, "Let him think what he wants. I'm here to help you people out, whether or not he likes me."

"Is that a threat? I'll take you out right here!" Leo challenged.

"Leo, be reasonable he's still recovering." Dan pleaded.

I stood up, "It's okay. This is something that needs to be resolved now. You already know that I'm on your side, but if this doesn't get sorted out now it's just going to impede progress. Let's head out back and make sure no one watches." Leo grinned menacingly and we headed out back. I stretched a bit and said, "I'm a bit rusty on my hand to hand combat."

"Do I look like I care? Come, fight me now!" Leo charged at me. He threw a punch at me which I blocked with my hand. I countered with a jab to the gut but he jumped back before it could connect. It seemed that he wouldn't be as easy as I thought. With my weakened state there was a slim chance of victory. Leo came at me with a flurry of attacks, and all I could do is block in hopes to tire him out. He never let up, I had to quickly think of something, but in that short thought I wasn't able to block a nasty uppercut that tossed me in the air.

I felt time slow as I somehow used the time in the air to think. Only one thing came to mind, but it was so outrageous there was no way I could pull it off. I thought of trying to use the power of the essence, but with no way of knowing how to control it I almost threw it out the window. Then I thought of a way to at least muster up a little bit of power. I put some distance between Leo and me and stood there with my eyes closed, Leo looking confused.

Using what little time I bought I started concentrating, hoping that my plan would work. I dug deep into my soul and found what I assumed I was looking for. I opened my eyes and Leo was right on top of me. A small burst of energy jolted through me and I was able to counter his assault, my second wind wasn't anything spectacular but it was enough to give me an edge. I notice Leo looking a bit shocked, so I used that as my opening. The first hit struck his gut which snapped him out of it. It was my turn to go on the offensive and turn things around. Slowly I noticed my speed pick up, attacking faster and more brutally.

I broke his block and took three swings at his chest, ending with an uppercut. It knocked him off balance and fall over. I was exhausted, and I could tell he was as well. "Draw." I panted, "We'll call this a draw."

His eyes were burning holes in me, "No way." he refused.

"Fine, have it your way. You're not going to like the outcome." I replied. Taking deep breathes I concentrated once again to muster any strength I had left. I was going to use a sacred technique I learned from a book I read. After some time practicing it I was able to use it at will. It was meant to be used as a final attack for it practically drains you stamina. I got into the stance and waited for Leo to get closer.

Leo regained his balance and was charging right at me. I waited for the right moment, and then as he got in front of me I dealt the final blow. Putting all of my strength into my arm I slammed my fist into his gut and sent him flying backwards sliding across the ground. I was shocked, I knew that the technique could take someone down, but I don't recall ever being able to do that. Leo lied there gasping for air, which relived and thought that I'd just killed him.

I felt weak, my legs were shaking, and some of my wounds had reopened. I walked over to the defeated leader, "You almost had me. I beat you, so I hope we put this behind us." I said, offering a hand. Leo glared at me and brushed my hand away. He slowly picked himself up and walked inside, I followed suit. Whatever we were supposed to talk about would have to wait until tomorrow.

I walked out; Mira was leaning up against a wall. She perked up when she saw me, then frowned, "Jacob you're a mess! What happened?" she demanded.

"The leader has anger issues." I gave her a weak smile, "Don't worry; I gave him a few 'tips' on controlling it." Mira seemed confused at first but caught on quickly. I was pretty beat up so I needed Mira's help to get back to the infirmary once again. About halfway there we were interrupted by a familiar character.

"Hold it!" She yelled. Maria was startled and quickly spun around making me stumble forward.

Without turning around I yelled back, "I don't believe I caught your name last time!"

Completely ignoring my remark the cheetah said, "You may have won last time, but this time it'll be different."

Mira looked dazed and confused on what was going on. Once she realized she protested, "Objection! Jacob you're in no shape to fight."

I leaned towards Mira and whispered, "Don't worry. This girl isn't much of a threat, this'll be over soon." She gave me a hard look and sighed. She walked over to a building and watched. I turned toward the odd foe and taunted, "Okay, let's see what you've got."

She growled and came at me. It went the same as last time, granted it took a bit longer due to my injuries. "It's over, you lost. I have to go now, but I have a feeling I'll see you again." I said as I turned and walked away.

I heard her mumble something so I turned around and asked her to repeat what she said. "Cathy, that's my name. But people call me Cat." She said. She fled before I had the chance to respond. Feeling like crap I decided not to think about it too much, and headed back to the infirmary. On the way there I noticed that Mira wanted to say something, but seemed nervous to ask. I was too tired to speak in coherent sentences so I decided not to pry.

Later that day Dan, Leo's second in command, came to visit. "Sorry to disturb you Jacob." he apologized for some reason.

"Nothing to be sorry about." I replied, "In fact I should be the one apologizing, for beating Leo."

Dan chuckled, "Yeah. He did look a bit unhappy after that fight." His expression changed, "However, we both know he was outmatched."

I shifted uncomfortably, "What do you mean?" I asked.

He started listing reasons, "First off, you weren't in the best condition when you two faced off. You also know several styles of hand to hand combat; you're practically in a class of your own." I wasn't affected by the complement because I knew what he was going to say next, "I know about the essence, Jacob. However, that's not why I'm here. We need to go over what we were going to discuss at the meeting." He started off with explaining their situation. As of now they only have 2000 troops at the ready; however they have very little training. He asked if I would be willing to train them.

Roughly 2000 troops that need serious training, Training them all at once would be way too difficult. Groups of 100-200 would be manageable. The only thing I'm not worried about is time, The Knights are most likely to wait for us to make a move and even if they did launch an attack it would be a small force, that's just how they operate. What worries me is how much they can take. I proposed the plan and together we worked out the finer details.

The troops would go through two sets of training, some would receive more than others but that would be fine. Leo would train the 2000 troops for the first month, this way they could be somewhat prepared for my training. Every month after the first I would take the top 200 from Leo's group and train them for a month while Leo trains the rest. Every month I would get a new group of the top 200 from Leo's group while the previous 200 go back to Leo. Any person that had already been in my class would be unable to be in the top 200 again. It may seem complicated on paper, but it's very simple.

With a plan decided on Dan left to start preparing. I was forced to rest for a whole week before I could get out of the hospital, and as soon as I was released I started planning my training program. With the possibility of the town being attacked Leo would train the troops at the rebel base and I would train them here, they would have to sleep in tents. The next few days I was sitting in the hospital, preparing an extreme training plan, waiting for the day I could get out.

A month passed, and the first batch of 200 troops was sent to me. The camp was set up outside the town, where I met up with these troops to give them their cold welcome. "Listen up all of you," I commanded, "You will be training under me for the next month. I will say right now this won't be easy for you; you may even call it hellish. Before I continue, anyone got any comments?" I asked.

"Aren't you that murderous human from the knights? Why should we trust you!" someone yelled.

"Yeah! Why trust a murderer!" another commented, then the crowd rose in an uproar.

I spoke up, "Shut it! I can see why you wouldn't trust me. However, I am the only one amongst you who knows exactly how powerful the knights are." the uproars continued, so I made a proposition, "Alright, tell you what! There are practices swords over there, anyone who wants to fight me grab one and meet me out in the field." I grabbed one myself and headed to said destination. In a matter of minutes, numerous angry troops surrounded me, "Alright, now that we are here I'll tell you one thing. Don't hold back. Begin!"

Half the group came at me almost all at once. Not a single one could land a hit on me. I found it very childish, beating them up to gain their trust. Even though that's the way I had to earn anyone's trust when I was in the Knights I often thought it was not the best way to go about doing it. The first half went down with no effort at all, which made a few of the other half to give up. In less than an hour those who chose to fight me had learned their place. Because I felt a little guilty I decided to let the group rest for the day and wait until tomorrow to start.

The next day I woke them up before sunrise. The entire day would be spent jogging on a set path I made, going uphill, downhill, through rivers and rough terrain. I was in front to make sure no one quits or falls behind. By the time we got back the sun was almost setting and the troops practically dead from exhaustion. I let them go and got ready for tomorrow. The schedule for almost every week was running, pushups, sword training, hand to hand combat, advance sword training, a day of rest, and then they would spar to practice what they learned. There would be days to practice archery but for the most part we stuck to the planned training, and they hated it.

The first month came and went, as did the second, and each time the routine was the same. Every night I would do a brief patrol, making sure the Knights weren't making their move. On the third month of training I was stopped by Mira as I was heading out for a patrol, she had a serious look on her face.

"Jacob," she started, "I want to learn to fight." She gave me a firm gaze, showing her resolve.

"Alright." I sighed.

"You're not going to change... wait, what?" Mira looked confused.

"I'll train you. I can read you like a book, Mira. You want to fight by my side, am I right." I said confidently. Mira nodded. "Right." I replied, "However, I will tell you now that you won't get any special treatment. In fact you will be trained harder than the rest if you want to fight next to me. Understood?" Mira hesitated, and then nodded. So when the next batch of trainees arrived she started her training. However, when everyone else was done for the day, she continued. Unlike all the other troops, she was going to train under me for the rest of the time I needed to train the other troops.

However, Mira wasn't the only one training with me. I noticed her following us and practicing with us in the shadows the second day of Mira's training. I thought she'd gone back, but it seemed that Cathy decided otherwise. It didn't matter to me; it just means that there will be another well trained soldier among us.

It was half-way through the fifth month of training when The Knights made a move. A guard ran up to me and reported seeing a small group of enemies approaching from the north. Once I heard the news I gathered the troops and gave them the details. "Alright listen up. We are under attack. A group of 100 highly skilled Knights are headed towards us and we need to fend them off. Now, I'll let you decide whether or not you want to fight on the front lines with me. If you don't feel confident in your abilities it is your duty to protect the citizens who will be moved to the town hall." I paused for a moment, reading the emotions of the soldiers. A lot of them were scared or nervous, and only a select few looked determined to win. I continued, "I cannot guarantee your survival. If you want to join me, gear up and meet up by the north gate. Rest of you, gather the civilians and protect them." With that they dispersed.

I was headed to the north gate when I was stopped by Mira. "Jacob. I know what's going on and I'm going to fight alongside you. You can't say anything to change my mind." She said. I didn't argue, I couldn't due to the impending attack. When we got to the gate I saw how little of a force I had, only 25 of the 200 troops showed up, it was dis heartening.

I set up what little troops I had behind me and waited for the enemy.

The attack came quickly, 100 Knights came running at us from a distance until they were 20 yards away. Once again I gave them a choice, "Leave us and you will be spared!" I commanded.

The officer in charge stepped forward, "You know we can't do that, traitor. Now, prepare to die!' he yelled back. He ordered the attack to start and they came marching at us.

I sighed and mumbled, "Should've listened to me." I turned to Mira and said, "Follow my lead." She nodded in response. I took a deep breath and summoned the power within me. I had been training to use the power over these months and had gotten better at gaining some control. I drew two swords, the special one, which I decided to call Dragons Might, and my trusty old blade. I dashed into the fray, catching all of the Knights off guard and clearing them out. I took out at least 50 before I started to tire out.

I'd accidentally exhausted a lot of my energy pulling that off. I suppressed how much energy I was using and continued on. I was able to catch a break in the action and examined our current situation, even after my push the troops were grouped up by the gate while Mira was off to my left. When I looked her way I heard her yell, "Aaah!" I ran to her aid but was too late; she was on the ground with a knife in her gut.

"No!" I yelled, I cleared out the surrounding enemies and ran to her. "Mira!" I called to her, no response; I tried several more times and got nothing. Something inside of me clicked, no, it felt like something broke free. I slowly got to my feet, my arms sagged at my sides, head hung low. Knights started to surround me, slowly closing in. Then, I started laughing. It felt like some other force was in control of my actions. I lifted my head, a crooked smile on my face, said, "You've made a grave mistake. Now you will all parish!" I could feel something, something taking control. I tried to fight back but it was no use.

My skin felt like it was on fire, my face felt like it was being stretched. As I screamed in agony my body began to change. It was over as soon as it had begun, and although I wasn't in control of my body, I could still see what was going on. I looked at the shocked and terrified faces of my foes. "What is that?" one screamed, "I...I don't know." another yelled. I could hear the word demon come from many others.

I could hear the thoughts of what ever had possessed me; death, kill, blood. Need to kill; it kept repeating over and over. I, or rather, it, started laughing maniacally, and then charged right into the fray. I couldn't believe it, the pure ferocity of what it was doing, it was terrifying. What had once been fighting to defend became fighting for pleasure. No mercy, no control, and worse of all, no fear of death. I could feel every cut and stab we took, but it just kept on slaughtering. I knew I'd seen something before, but I couldn't think of where.

"Ja...cob." I heard Mira call out. We turned to face where she was, and slowly walked to her. Kill; it thought again, then started moving faster. No! I tried fighting back but whatever had possessed me wouldn't budge. It got closer; I continued to fight it. It was almost there; I tried harder. It was right on top of her, "Jacob?" Mira was terrified, it raised my hand.

I made my final push. My body froze up, then I grasped my head and fell to my knees, "N...no. Get out! Get out of my head!" slowly; I released myself from its control. Finally, I was in control again.

"Jacob?" Mira said again. I tried to get up but collapsed for a moment before moving my way towards Mira, who was sitting up and clutching her wound.

"Don't worry Mira, I'm alright. Now let's take care of your wounds." I pulled out my field first aid kit I always carry to battle and starting dressing her wounds.

"Jacob, wha...what happened to you? You...you're." Mira stuttered. Right after she said that, the pain that I felt before came back. It didn't hurt as bad as before, but I still yelped from the shock.

"Are...you. Can you stand up, Mira?" I panted. She slowly rose to her feet and I followed suit. We limped over to the gate, where the troops were surprisingly clearing up any stragglers. As I approached them they gave me a mixture of looks; from fear to confusion; so I said, "Please. Keep what just happened between us. At least until I can figure out what's happening to me?" The group nodded in agreement and we all headed in, "Oh and, good work men." I gave a weak smile.

I dismissed all the soldiers and gave the all clear. Mira and I got patched up and headed to the large tree in the field. "So, what happened?" Mira started.

"I...I don't know." I replied.

"Jacob, you changed, not just physically; your eyes, they were red and soulless." She exclaimed, "Do you even know what you changed into?"

I nodded, "A Dragonkin."

For a few moments only silence filled the air, then Mira raised a question, "Do...do you think you could...do it again?"

"Only one way to find out." I stood up and started concentrating. I tapped into my inner strength and started powering up. Then I tried to push myself further, concentrating on turning into a Dragonkin. Surprisingly, it started to work. The same excruciating pain shot through my body as I transformed. When the pain faded I started examining myself. I definitely had wings and a tail; that would not stop moving. I looked at Mira and guessed I looked like her, except less feminine. "So..." I looked at Mira, "How do I look?"

She examined me closely, "Not bad." she mumbled.

"Huh? What'd you say?" I asked.

"Uh! You look...uh...like you'd expect." she blushed.

"Hmm." I replied, and then decided to drop it. "Let's go for a walk." I said.

"A walk? Why?" she asked.

"Well," I started, "I'll need to get used to this body. So what better way to do that than simply walking?"

"But you seemed just fine when you were fighting." Mira blurted then quickly looked at the ground.

"You know that wasn't me!" I paused, "Anyway, that's in the past. Come on, let's go." I helped her up and headed into the woods. We hiked through the forest, and then stopped in a clearing where we stopped for a rest. "Getting used to this body has been easy, but I still can't stop my tail from wagging." I grunted.

"Here" Mira came over and stood behind me. Suddenly, she struck me in the back, scarring the crap out of me and making something snap. My tail stopped moving on its own. "There, now try moving it." Mira instructed. I tried, and nothing happened. "Don't think of it as something new. Try moving it like an arm." Mira said. I followed her instructions and started moving my tail like I'd always had one. She smiled and said that my wings worked the same way and in no time I was moving my wings as well. Flying, however, was something completely different. My butt was sore after falling so many times.

Mira and I lay on the ground and just relaxed. I eventually ended up taking a nap. I woke up a few minutes later when I heard the sound of something approaching us. Mira had also fallen asleep, "Mira. Mira wake up us got company!" I shook her awake. Our visitors were already upon us when she got up. There were 10 men; all dressed in black and equipped with katanas. "Crap, it the Knights special assassination team." I realized that Mira wasn't armed, and I left my special blade at the tent, so I gave her my spare. "Kat! Watch over Mira while take care of these guys!" I called out.

Kathy jumped out of a tree, "How in the hell did you know I was here!" she complained.

"You're always trailing me." I replied, "Mira, go with Kathy and stay hidden." I commanded.

"No. Jacob I can't..."

"Listen to me. I'm starting to slip again. Now go!" I interrupted. She reluctantly turned and ran to Kat and hid in the trees. I turned to the attackers, "Are you ready to die?" I'd already lost control of myself.

The assassins charged at me, and once again the lust for blood surged through me. I didn't have a weapon, but I still went charging in. I'd never seen such carnage. I used my own hands to pierce through their bodies and ripping them up, laughing maniacally. I felt powerless, unable to do anything. It ended quickly, all of them lie dead.

I managed to regain control before I could do something I would regret. However, I ran into the forest when I heard Mira call for me. I ran to a hidden waterfall and washed away the blood that covered me. I walked to a nearby cave and just sat there. Eventually, despite what I'd just witnessed, I fell asleep. When I opened my eyes again I was in an empty white space. Confused, I walked around in hopes of finding anything, but there was nothing.

"Where am I?" I said to myself. "Hello! Anyone here?" I called out with no reply in return. I sat down and thought about what happened. My thinking brought me to an odd conclusion; I hadn't physically moved at all. I was currently in some dream world or something. I decided to just relax and wait until I wake up. Then I noticed an odd 'atmosphere' in this place. Odd yet familiar. "N...no way!" I exclaimed, "Am I...am I...in the Essence!"

Someone appeared behind me, "Close. This is your own soul; the Essence has become a part of it." The figure said.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"The better question is who are you?" He started laughing.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I said nervously.

"I'll tell you. You're a murderer, with a thirst for blood like no other man. Killing is fun to you; you get a thrill from seeing the life drain from their eyes. That's who you are!" He replied sinisterly.

"No!" I yelled back, and then took a deep breath, "I'm not that person anymore."

"Oh but you still are. You've felt it during battles, you're thirst for blood is still there." he laughed again.

"Just...who the hell are you?" I demanded.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm you." I spun around to face him, he laughed, "Well I guess you'd refer to me as your 'evil' side." and evil he was. He wasn't lying when he said he was me. It was like I was looking into a mirror. The only difference was that he was surrounded by a thick dark aura that reeked of evil.

I smiled to myself, "evil, huh? I could fight you in hopes that doing so would erase you from my soul, but I'm no fool. Everyone has at least a little bit of evil lurking inside them."

"Exactly! That's why you shouldn't be afraid to go on a rampage once in a while." my dark self-laughed.

"However!" I gave him a stern look, "I'm tired of you taking control when I fight. I ask you to stop."

"Stop?" he was confused, "What if I don't?"

"I'll kick your sorry ass." I replied. The dark aura around him faded, and the last thing I heard was his laughter. I was still in the cave when I came to. I looked outside; it had gotten a bit darker, but not by much.

"Jacob!" I heard someone yell in the distance. I didn't reply. "Jacob!" it was Mira who was calling my name.

I took a deep breath and yelled back, "I'm here! In the cave near the waterfall!" I didn't move from my spot until Mira arrived.

"Jacob." She sighed, "I finally found you. Is everything alright you ran off after the fight, and it seems that you've reverted back into you're human form." I looked at my arms, and sure enough I was human again.

"Tell me something. Did you see what I did? If you did, are you afraid of me?" I asked sullenly.

She looked at the ground, "Yes, I did see what you did to those men." She stepped towards me, "However, I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid of you because I believe that no matter what, you'll pull through." she sat down next to me.

I smiled, "I'm glad." I said, she gave me a confused look, "You don't have to worry about, that side of me, I have it under control." I looked at her and smiled, "Thank you, Mira. Thanks for believing in me." We sat there, and eventually fell asleep.

We returned to the town the next morning. The troops were at the training area waiting patiently for me. When I showed up they all gave me a cheer. I was surprised and disappointed when they started calling me dragon man. I found the men that I thought were the few that witnessed that, but in fact a guard saw the whole thing and reported it. I sighed and gathered the troops. "I hear that there is a rumor that I transformed into a Dragonkin, am I right?" a collective yes rose from the crowd; I sighed and said, "Well if you didn't believe it before, I'll tell you that the rumor, is true." I started transforming before their eyes, "As you can see for yourself, it's true."

The troops were speechless. Then I heard someone yell, "Can you fly?"

I broke out into laughter, "No, no I can't. I don't know how to yet. I just learned how to stop my tail from moving on its own." the troops started laughing along with me. I waited until they calmed before speaking, "Now onto business. I noticed quite a few of you didn't show up to the front-lines yesterday. For those of you that did I commend your bravery and your skills. For the rest of you, however, I don't hold your choices against you. But know that you won't always be behind the front-lines." I let it sink in before announcing training will resume tomorrow and walked to the inn.

On the way back Mira and I had a little chat. "It's amazing that you are able to transform without feeling the pain." she said.

"Oh it still hurts like hell. I'm just good at hiding the pain." I winced in pain. "By the way, could I ask you to do a favor for me?" I asked.

"A favor?" she replied as if such a thing would come from me. "Um...sure." she said.

"I was wondering." I fidgeted for some reason, "Could you teach me how to fly?"

She looks puzzled, "I could try. I wouldn't know exactly how to teach you though."

"That's okay. Thanks Mira." I thanked her and continued to the inn. I tried to get some form of rest but I just couldn't. I had this sinking feeling something bad was happening. Sure enough, the next morning revealed my worries.

I was approached by a frantic soldier. "Sir! The Knights have taken people over Woodton! They're demanding you surrender and give yourself up or they'll kill all of the townsfolk; Man and creature. Please sir, I have family there!" he started tearing up.

I put a hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry. I already have a plan. Tell the others that I'll be back in a while. Make sure Mira and Kat don't follow, tell them I'm running an errand. I'm heading out now." Reverting back into human form I hurried out to the people sent to collect me.

"I wouldn't had expect the mighty Jacob to give up so easily, how pathetic." the captain said when we arrived. "Throw him in with the others. You, send word to the general that we have him." He paused and gave me an evil look, "Scratch that. We're going to keep him for a few days to torture him. Now go, and make sure he's cuffed."

They threw me in the famous portable jailhouse with the other villagers. They made sure to put special handcuffs, ones that are unbreakable. I sat away from the villagers for a while, staring out into space. Eventually, a young fox that had been looking at me for a while came up to me, "Excuse me mister. Um, what are doing?"

I gave him a smile, "Getting out of these cuffs." I replied.

The young fox tilted his head, "How are you gunna do that?"

"Like this." I gave the cuffs a slight tug and they fell off. Lucky for me, I was the one who had invented them. I made sure no guards were around, then turned to the villagers and said, "Okay listen up. I'm here to rescue you all. I have a plan, but it requires me to do something that may alarm you. I need you to not freak out, okay?" I requested. Most of the villagers nodded silently. I nodded back and began transforming, hoping the guards hear my yelping. I heard one coming towards us, "Cover your eyes young ones, this isn't going to be pretty.

The guard walked up to the cell, "What's all that noise?" he grunted. He looked around and noticed 'I' was gone. "Where'd he go? Explain!" he scowled.

"He escaped. Obviously you're jail was no match for him." I replied.

"What was that smart ass?" he grunted, obviously affected by my comment.

"You heard me. You're obviously no match for him." I taunted.

"You better shut your mouth before I give you a beating." he angrily responded.

I gave him a smirk, "I'd like to see you try." and try he did. He opened the jail door and attacked me. He was easily downed in a matter of seconds. "They don't train them like they used to." I mumbled under my breath.

"Just who are you?" one of the villagers asked.

Reverting to my human form I looked back and said, "The person who is going to get you out of here." I told them to stay here and that I'll be back soon. I looked around for a disguise. I found a guard outfit to wear. I decided to use this opportunity to gather information. I exited the jailhouse to go search for the central tent. I luckily had the cover of darkness on my side, so I easily made my way to the tent.

There wasn't any one around to guard their precious information, and they were the real deal. They were that confident that I wouldn't be able to escape, it's almost laughable. I took all the important documents and sabotaged their communications. I returned to the jailhouse and found another guard, asking where I went. "Please, I need to know where he went." 'He' said.

I decided to mess around, "Hey! What's going on?" I demanded. I deepened my voice to add to the joke.

"Ah!" the 'guard' yelped. In a female voice.

"I know it's you, Mira." I said, removing my helmet.

"Jacob!" she ran up and gave me a hug, "How did you it was me?"

"Your tail is still showing." I chuckled. She looked behind her and giggled in embarrassment. "I knew you would show up anyway. I'm guessing Kat is here as well." sure enough she comes out of the shadows, pouting that I knew she was there. I told them that our goal is just to get these people out of here, but apparently Mira already had a plan set in motion.

Mira and Kathy brought a small force of about 40 troops; special ops are what they called them. They were intending to take the town without killing anyone. I looked into the cell and saw that the villagers had been replaced with unconscious guards, including the captain. Within minutes the entire town was cleared out. The 40 troops had been ordered to stay here, while I was supposed to go back and meet with Leo at the rebel HQ.

"You're finally here. Now we can begin discussing some 'issues' that have popped up." Dan greeted me. He lead us to the command room where Leo and a few other generals. When Leo saw me he immediately said, "You got some explaining to do."

Feeling offended I asked, "What did I do?"

Leo slammed the table, "You know what! You took on almost 100 Knights by yourself. Not only that but I've been hearing rumors about you. Very ridiculous rumors, they're saying they've seen you, transform. So, explain yourself, now!" he demanded.

"Nice to see you too, Leo." I replied, Leo growled at me. "Anyway. Yes, it is true that I took out nearly 100 men during that attack. As for the rumor." I sighed, "I should've known I wouldn't have been able to keep it a secret."

"You...you don't mean. You mean to tell me the rumor is true?" Leo was taken aback. I nodded in response to his question. "Pr...prove it!" he demanded. I sighed and complied, transforming in front of his eyes. I kept the pain hidden, just to make it look like I'd completely mastered transforming on command. I gave a bow just to rub it in, for some reason.

"You satisfied?" I asked.

"Fight me!" How predictable for Leo to say.

I sighed, "Why?"

"I can tell by the way your acting that you obviously have an idea to propose. I won't here you out until you fight Me." he replied.

"Okay, fine. Where shall we fight?" I reluctantly agreed. He pointed outside and ran out. I followed suit.

"I don't want you to hold back, Jacob." Leo excitedly said.

"Alright, if you insist. I'm ready when you are." I sighed. I really didn't want to put him through the beating he was about to receive. Leo charged at me with admirable speed. Admirable, but not good enough. Every punch he threw was easily dodged. I kept dodging, mostly just to show off. Leo was getting angry, and I mean angry. Out of curiosity, I decided to let him hit me just to see how strong he was. His punch connected with my face. It was nothing to scoff at, it actually hurt a little. I grew tired, so I tripped him, launched him up in the air, and kicked as hard as I could send him flying across the ground.

I turned to Dan, "I think I might have over done it. Didn't I?" I said, feeling a little guilty.

Dan shook his head, "He brought this on himself, so don't feel bad for beating the crap out of him." I laughed a little. Obviously, Leo was unconscious so we had to continue the meeting without him. "So, what was your plan?" Dan inquired.

I pulled out a map that I found during the rescue operation, "I stole this map from the enemy. As you can see, there are dates next to these settlements. This is how the Knights coordinate their attacks." I pointed to some red dots on the map, "These red dots signify towns they've already attacked. My plan is for you to send troops to fortify the towns that are going to be attacked and send a team to the towns already attacked."

"And what about this town? There's no way we can get troops there in time." Dan raised a valid point, however I already knew this.

"I know. I, along with two others, can reach there just as the Knights are attacking. You should send an aid team. That is my plan." I concluded.

"It's good I'll give you that, but how do we know how many troops to send to each town?" Dan pointed out.

I nodded, "Good question." I pointed at a date of attack, "See that random number there? That indicates their attack force." I paused, "Now, I'd send at least 20-30 more troops that the Knights' attack force, just in case they increase it. There's no time to waste I need to get going to that town. Oh, and tell Leo I said sorry." I hurried out of the room and sighed in relief, I was never a fan of meetings.

I looked up and said, "I hope you two got all of that." Two heads peered over the roof.

"How'd you know we were here?" Mira and Kathy said together.

I laughed, "Because I'm just that good." I gestured them to follow, "C'mon, we got to get going." We got geared up and headed out to hopefully save a town.

"Oh no." Mira gasped. The town was already being attacked, and on fire. Luckily I could tell it just started.

I turned into my Dragonkin form and took both Mira and Kat under my arms, "Brace yourself." And before either of them could protest I sprinted as fast as I could to the town. We arrived within a few seconds. I put them down and they both slapped me. "What?" I asked, and they slapped me again. "Okay Okay I get it." I took a breath, "We need to split up. According to our intel there are only about 20 Knights in the area. Judging by the fire they have fire crystals so be careful. Ready?" they nodded, "Okay, let's go!" and we all headed out in different directions.

I ran to where the fire was thickest, taking out any Knights along the way. I spotted three surrounding a couple of Dragonkin. "Someone! Help!" one of them cried out. By now I'd reverted back to my original form, just to make sure the attackers recognized me. I closed in and took them out with finesse.

"Are you too alright?" I asked the shaken couple. The woman pointed at a burning building. "There are people still in there? Your kids?" She just nodded. "Okay, stay hidden I'll go get them." I turned and ran into the burning building. I called out for the trapped individual or individuals. I heard someone crying over the loud crackling of the fire coming from upstairs. I ran for the stairs but it crumbled before I could get there. On a whim I changed into my other form and tried to use my wings to help me jump up to the next level. It took a few tries but I eventually got up and changed back. The crying came a room at the far end of the hall, and inside were two young Dragonkin crying in the corner. "Hey. Its okay now I'm here to help. Come here." I coaxed the frighten children. They practically jumped into my arms and bit my shoulders. I cringed in pain as I ran out of the burning building.

I found their parents in a nearby alley, the mothers face lit up when she saw me with her kids. "Thank you. Oh thank you very much!" she bursted into tears. I looked over at the father, he nodded and I nodded back. I ran off to help any other people. As I ran a crazy idea popped in my head. Making sure no one was around I changed and drew my sword.

I had been studying up on my special sword's abilities, one of which is summoning water. I raised it up into the air and concentrated until I said, "Downpour!" within a minute the sky went pitch black and started raining so hard it was like a lake was dropping on the town. The fires were smothered by the rain. A few minutes went by and I couldn't keep it up any longer. Dropping to my knee I stopped the rain, the clouds quickly dispersed shortly after. Once again I changed back, and then started to wander about, searching for any more Knights.

"Jacob!" I heard Kathy call out to me.

"Hey! How are you doing on your end?" I asked.

"All clear. Mira is gathering survivors and bringing them to the town hall to wait for the aid team." She sighed in relief, good thing that crazy storm came. If it hadn't the town would have burned to the ground." I saw her look at my shoulders but said nothing. We headed over to the town hall to get Mira.

"How is everyone?" I asked as we arrived.

"Well, there are a few reported dead and quite a few still missing. As for the survivors, there are a few wounded but nothing too bad." She also noticed my shoulders, "Jacob, what happened to you? Your shoulders are bleeding badly." She said with concern.

I shrugged, painfully, "It's not that bad. There were two children, Dragonkin, trapped in a burning building. When I picked them up to escape, they bit my shoulders." I smiled, "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Just as we finished our conversation, the aid team arrived. The leading officer came up to me, "Nice to meet you General Jacob. I'm the captain of this team; we can take it from here."

I nodded, "Alright, could I have some bandages and some antibacterial ointment I appear to be hurt." I asked. The captain happily obliged and I got patched up. I thanked them and we left to go back.

"Not that bad, huh?" Mira teased.

"Hey I just didn't want my arm to get infected that's all." I replied defensively. She just laughed. We didn't know it, but we were in for a surprise. We were met with a currier on our way back. He delivered some shocking news.

"You're never going to believe this, but the Knights have called for a temporary truce. Apparently they called this because they said they wanted to give everyone three weeks rest." He said in one breath.

"What!" Mira said, dumbfounded by this information. "Jacob! Is this a legitimate truce? Are they lying?" She started bombarding me with questions. I held up my hand to quiet her.

"Hold on." I said. I turned to the messenger and asked, "Does this information come from the leader of the Knights?" He nodded in response, "I see...hmm." I turned to Mira, "Yes. This is definitely true. The Knights may be a bunch of murderers, but they don't go back on their word. When they call a truce they go all out, no spying, no fighting, they don't even plan anything. Truce to them is just another word for vacation." I smiled, "So, where would you like to go, Mira?"

"What? Well...I...uh...why do you ask?" She asked, flustered by my question. Her attitude quickly changed, she frowned, "How can you act like this is just a vacation, for all we know this could be a trap."

"Because they're serious." I laughed, "I told you, they don't go back on their word. If you don't believe me, come with me."

"Where to?" she asked rather demandingly.

I gave a confident smirk, "To their HQ. You can ask them yourself." Mira was taken aback by my proposal. "Don't worry. I'll get you a disguise crystal; it'll make you look like a human to others. Humans are especially fooled by this because most of us aren't trained to see through the disguise."

"You promise I'll be fine?" She asked, actually considering it.

"You know you will. I did say I'd protect you with my life." That statement seemed to get her to go along with it. I turned to Kat, "Go tell Leo and the others that I'll be heading out. And before you ask, no, you can't come along. I would let you if I could but two people would be more suspicious than one." Kat pouted and stormed off.

The Knights HQ wasn't too far from out location, and on our way there I told Mira how to use the crustal. All she had to do was just have it on her person. Mira grasped my hand as we walked through the main gate. We were stopped by a guard, "Halt, who goes...there?" He paused and looked at me closely, "My word, is that you Jacob?" I nodded. The guard smiled, then frowned, "What business do you have here?"

"I've come to see the boss man. I heard he called for a treaty." I replied.

"Aye that he did." He noticed Mira, who was hiding behind me, "And who is this lovely lady you've got there."

"A villager that heard of this truce. She wants to hear it from the boss himself." I replied.

The guard thought for a moment then said, "Alright. I assume you still know where it is?" I nodded. I took Mira's hand and headed inside.

By the way he was sitting on his chair, I could he was expecting me. "Welcome back, Jacob the traitor."

"I can assume that you know why I'm here." I sarcastically said.

Mira tugged at my arm, "Jacob, is that...?" She sheepishly asked.

"Yes, this is the leader of the Knights. Trevor the terrible." I answered.

"Yes, young Dragonkin. I am the leader of the Knights. I'm a busy man so I'll answer your question. The temporary treaty is real; you need not worry about attacks from us for a while. Everyone deserved a break so I gave them one. Now please leave I have a vacation to take." He answered. I took Mira's hand once again and headed out.

"Not what you were expecting, huh?" I asked quizzically as we left.

She shook her head, "I imagined him looking like some monstrous, demonic, evil person. But he's just a normal guy." She gripped my hand, "But, he had this look in his eyes..." I looked at her, her eyes widen, "eyes, just like that. Almost lifeless and weary."

I looked ahead and said, "Not lifeless, Mira. Those are the eyes of a haunted man. Just like mine."

Mira stopped and let go of my hand, "No, Jacob. Your eyes are different than his. They hide a side that cares for others, a soft and loving man that had been haunted by his past." She said encouragingly.

"Loving?" I replied. I saw her look down, embarrassed by her slip-up. I hugged her, "Thank you, Mira." I let her go.

"For...uh...what?" She said, flustered by what just happened.

I chuckled, "For dealing with I'm putting you through."

She looked at me, obviously confused. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"War." I paused, "Well, no. You haven't actually killed anyone."

"Huh? What are you saying? You're not making any sense." Mira said.

I turned to her, "I was afraid that you'd be haunted by those you 'thought' you killed. So I imbued your blade with a powerful crystal that puts the people you stab in a coma."

"So you're saying, that I've never killed anyone?" She asked, a hint of relief in her voice.

I nodded, "Yes, you haven't killed anyone yet." I sighed, "However, there may be a time where you will have to strike a person down for real." I grabbed her hand, "And when you do, I want you to come straight to me. I don't want you to carry that burden by yourself like I had to."

"Ja...Jacob. You're crying." Mira pointed out. I wiped my under my eyes and sure enough I was. "Why are you crying?" She asked softly.

"I...don't know. I think it's because you were the first one I've ever opened to. " I sniffled, "I know it sounds very cheesy, and that this came out of nowhere. But, I think that's why."

Mira stepped forward and hugged me, "I'm here for you if you need a shoulder." She said warmly.

I hugged her back, "That's my line. Thanks, but I feel fine now." I chuckled. "C'mon, we have a vacation to start." I said as we released each other. Mira nodded and we started heading back. I stopped and said, "Oh, and Kathy. Could you keep this between us?"

Kathy jumped out from a nearby tree. "How do you always know I'm there!" She snarled.

"You can't hide from a former master. However, I will say that you've surpassed the Knights special ops in stealth." I waved my hand, gesturing her to go, "You should enjoy your three weeks vacation. Bye." I continued walking with Mira. We arrived at Riverton in a few hours to gather our stuff. "So Mira, where do you want to go?" I asked.

Mira pondered for a bit then said, "Well, how about we go to your house." She bluntly replied.

"My...my house?" I stuttered, "Why would you want to go there?"

She shrugged, "It's where we met. Besides, I really can't think of anywhere else to train you how to fly, the woods aren't that far from there."

I gave a little sigh, "If that's where you want to go...sure, let's head out tomorrow." I agreed to her request. We got rooms and rested until morning. That's what I wish I did, but I couldn't fall asleep. I kept having this pain in my chest. For some reason it felt like something was trying to devour me. I pretended not to worry, telling myself that I was just sore and tired. Mira noticed that I didn't look too good. When she inquired about it I just said I didn't sleep well and not to worry about it.

It took us until noon to arrive at my house, which was a mess. "Um, stay here Mira. I need to clean up." I made a mad dash through the house; I'd never cleaned my house that fast in my life. I threw my dirty clothes in the wash, washed the dishes, freaked out about what horror was in my fridge as I cleared and cleaned it, and took out the trash. All the while opening every window possible. I returned to Mira. "Okay," I huffed, "I'm done, make yourself at home. I need to go to the store to get some things, I'll be back soon." I ran off, leaving Mira to her own devices.

I returned with many things, clothes, food, some energy crystals, and even another bed. I put everything in its place then looked around for Mira. I found her in my room, searching through a box I rather would have stayed closed. She pulled out an old invention I made a long time ago. When she noticed me she didn't try to hide what she was doing. Instead she asked about it, "What's this?" She pointed it at me.

"Whoa! Careful with that!" I freaked out. Mira carefully set it down. I walked over and picked it up. "This is something I thought I'd never see again."

Mira tilted her head, "What is it? By the way your acting it looks dangerous."

I sighed, "It's something that I should have never made. I call it a gun, I guess the best way to show you what it does is by example. We should go deep into the woods to use this. Give me that pouch right there and let's head out." Mira and I headed out into the forest, to see the most terrible weapon I've made.

We went deep into the woods, walking for at least an hour. "Can we stop walking now?" Mira complained.

I took a look around. "Yes, I guess this is good enough spot as any." I pulled out the gun and put an energy crystal in a slot in the handle. I pointed it at a tree, "Mira, get behind me and cover your ears, this will be loud." I commanded. I took a deep breath and slowly pulled the trigger. There was an ear shattering boom along with a bolt of energy hitting the tree trunk, exploding it into bits and leaving a large hole in it. The recoil was just as powerful, almost dislocating my shoulder upon firing. "Gah!" I yelled. I dropped the gun, which was luckily only a single shot.

"Jacob! Are you badly hurt?" Mira hurriedly rushed to my side. I just pointed at the tree. "What are you pointing at?" She looked at the carnage, "What the! What happened? Did you do that Jacob?" She gasped, startled by the sight before her.

"You've seen what it does, and hopefully you now know why I didn't want to ever see it again." I said, gripping my arm.

"You made this during your time with the Knights, didn't you. So why don't we see them equipped with this?" She asked.

I smiled, "Because I destroyed all of them but this one. This is the only gun in existence along with the schematics."

Mira looked at me and got lost in thought, then she blurted out, "Oh I know!" I tilted my head out of confusion. "Instead of making it so powerful and deadly, you should make it into something like a stun gun! What do you think?"

I sighed, "I don't know. I guess I could, but society should never get ahold of this technology. Tell you what, I'll make it into a tranquilizer gun. No kickback because it'd be shot using a wind crystal. To be honest, I could do that today and be done by tonight. But we won't touch it until the vacation is over." She agreed and we dropped the topic.

I cooked dinner that night. Spaghetti and meatballs. "I didn't know you cook? And you're good at it as well." Mira complimented.

I smiled, "Well, when you have been living alone for so long you learn to do things." I thanked her for the compliment.

She finished her food rather quickly, then looked at me. "I meant to ask, what did you get from the store?"

"Well, I bought a second mattress for me to sleep on, since you will be taking the bedroom. I bought us both clothes, but I'd need to help you cut holes in them. Other than that I just got the essentials like soap and such." I answered.

"Speaking of soap. I haven't had a bath for a while." Mira stated.

"Why didn't you use the ones at the inn?" I bluntly asked.

She shifted, "Because, they were public. I like my privacy when I clean myself okay." She defensively said.

I nodded, "The bath is upstairs. There are towels and some robes in there already." I directed her. She thanked me and ran upstairs. I cleaned up the kitchen and changed the sheets on the bed Mira was going to sleep on. For some reason I was pacing around the house.

I was in the living-room when I heard her come down. "Jacob?" She called out. I called back telling her where I was. "Jacob, I need your help." Mira said as she entered the room, stark naked.

"M..Mira!" I looked away.

"Jacob your face is red again. Do you have a fever?" She turned me around and put her hand on my forehead. "You seem fine...anyway I need help with my clothes." She brought me some scissors and stood there expectantly.

I took a deep breath and decided to get over whatever embarrassment I'm experiencing and got to helping her. When she was fully clothed she did a little twirl, showing how happy she was with her new clothes. She stopped and said, "Why was your face red, Jacob?"

"Just warn me next time you come into a room naked, besides the bathroom." I replied.

"Why? We're inside and the curtains are closed." She persistently asked, trying to pry information out of me.

"Well uh..." I looked around the room, as if I were going to make an escape. "I...I have to get ready for bed." I rushed up the stairs and into the bathroom, locking the door behind me. I sighed in relief and cleaned myself up.

I got in my pajamas and set up the bed I was going to sleep in. Mira popped in the room and asked, "Where will I sleep?" I told her she could have my bed because it's bigger and comfier. I slept downstairs in a room I suppose was supposed to be a guest room. I tried sleeping but couldn't rest at all. The pains from the previous night returned, although, not as bad as before. I heard someone, I assumed Mira, walking down the steps and to my room. "Jacob." I heard Mira knock at the door.

"Yes?" I replied.

"Could you...I umm...this may sound weird but...umm." She was fumbling over her words.

"You can ask me anything, Mira." I said hoping to calm her uneasiness.

"Could you sleep with me?" She bluntly blurted.

"Uh...please rephrase that." I quickly responded.

"I can't sleep. I'm scared for some reason. So could you lie down with me? I'd feel safer if you did.

I smiled at her through the darkness, "Of course, I'll be up in a minute." Mira went back upstairs and I soon followed. Mira was in bed waiting for me. My bed was big enough for three so I was able to give Mira some personal space. She fell asleep quickly. The pains faded and I fell asleep as well.

I was startled by two things when I woke up. One was that Mira's arms were wrapped around me, completely defeating the purpose of giving her the space she asked for. However, that was the least of my worries. I had somehow changed into my Dragonkin form. I tried turning back, but the pain in my chest prevented from doing so. In a panic I forced myself back into my human form, the pain intensified but eventually subsided. "Ahh." Mira yawned, "Are you alright, Jacob? You were fidgeting a lot." Mira asked groggily.

"Yeah." I replied, "Everything is alright." But for how long? I didn't know what worried me more, the fact that I'm already losing control of my soul, or the consequences that constantly transforming had on me. "Hey, Mira." I said, "Let's go for a hike through the woods for today."

"Hmm? Why?" Mira asked, "Wouldn't you rather learn how to fly?" She sounded concerned.

"I never got the chance to really get to know you. So I decided that we should take it easy for this first week. Sound alright?" I replied softly. Mira noticed my strange behavior, but said nothing and went along with it.

The next week was spent getting to know each other. Mira basically already knew everything about me besides my old hobby of tinkering with gadgets and fishing. I learned that Mira was tomboyish, acting more like a boy in her childhood. Either that or Dragonkin little girls are just like that. It was difficult trying to keep what was happening to me under wraps, and I think Mira still noticed it anyway. However, I was able to make it through the week without transforming into my Dragonkin self.

But it was time to learn to fly. Mira brought me to clearing in the woods and happily began instructing me. "Alright, today you will learn how to move you wings." You could tell how excited she was by just standing next to her. "First, transform." She commanded. I hesitated, but Mira gave me a look that basically shocked into my Dragonkin form.

"I wonder who you learned that stare from." I joked. She glared at me and I straightened up. So this is how it felt to be trained by me, how terrifying.

"Good. Now, the best way to describe the feeling of wings is think of them as another pair of arms, just on your back and you can't grab things with them." She gave me a hard stare, "Go!"

I took her explanation to heart and tried forcing them to move. All that accomplished was straining my back. "Don't force it." Mira instructed. I tried relaxing and try again, no results. "Here" Mira said softly and walked up behind me. "Try to remember these feelings. First, extending your wings." Mira gently grabbed one of my wings and slowly extended and contracted it several times. It sent a chill down my spine, but I was more focused on feeling the movement to really notice. "Now you try." She let go and I tried for myself. I could feel my wings twitching, and this time instead of forcing it I just thought about it. Soon the twitching became small movements, then full extension. It was harder than expected, it got worse when Mira said, "Great job! Now try extending both at once."

A few hours later and I had perfected it. "Phew!" I panted, "That was more labor intensive than I imagined."

Mira ran up and hugged me, "Great job! I knew you could do it." She stepped back and smiled, "Now you need to learn to flap them." My heart sank and sighed in the form of a complaint, but Mira gave me the death stare again and I straightened up. It was practically the same routine, eventually leading into me getting it down like it was second nature. "Okay, that's all for now. Change back and hit the showers!" Mira commanded. I tried, but the same pain hit me, and this time I couldn't hide it.

"Agh!" I doubled over.

Mira ran to me and helped me up, "Jacob what's wrong?" She let me lean on her shoulder.

"It's nothing." I grunted, "I'm just a bit sore, that's all." I gave her a fake reassuring smile. We headed home, I took a shower, and we ate and went to bed. Once again, Mira wanted us to sleep together. I could tell this time she just wanted to keep a caring eye on me, and I couldn't say no.

The rest of the week was spent on step two, lift off. I had to jump and flap my wings downwards, hard enough to get me up and fast enough to keep me from falling back down. The worst part was the balancing, I couldn't count the number of times I fell on my face because I was off balance. The hardest thing of all didn't have anything to do with flying, it was constantly coming up with excuses for not reverting back. I could tell Mira never bought it but she kept it to herself. The flying itself only took two days to master. I was soaring through the air, it was the best feeling ever. I could never use words to describe it.

The last few days Mira and I spent flying through the air, just enjoying life. On the second to last day, Mira was fed up with my excuses. She took me into the clearing where we trained, then stared off into the distance. "Jacob." She said solemnly, "Tell me why you won't turn back into a human."

"I told you," I started, "I enjoy..."

"Stop it!" She yelled at me. "Stop lying to me." She turned to face me, she was crying. "Stop pretending that you're fine!" She clenched her fists, "I don't understand why you won't tell me why." She started sniffling.

I looked down in shame, "You're right, I've been lying to you." I looked up at her, "But I didn't want to worry you."

She punched me in the face. "Idiot! You know you can tell me anything. I've been more worried because you haven't told me." She stressed. "So no more lying! Tell me why you won't turn back!"

"Because I can't!" I yelled back. Mira looked shocked. "I didn't want you to know this because I was worried how you'd react. A few weeks ago, I had a terrifying dream. In the dream I saw the Essence's soul, devouring my human soul. Every time I'd transform, the more of my soul would be absorbed." I had tears in my eyes, and was clenching my fists. "Eventually, I couldn't turn back." I started breaking down. I stared at Mira, fear and sadness written all over my face, and said, "Mira...Mira I'm. There's no human part of me left. I've lost my identity, I don't know what to do." I calmed down a bit then chuckled through my tears, "I must look pretty pathetic right now."

Mira wrapped her arms around me, I felt a sense of security overwhelm me. "Shhh." Mira patted my back as if I was a child. "Listen to me, Jacob." She softly said. "Just because you've lost your human self, doesn't mean you've lost your identity. You're still Jacob." Her words eased my worries a bit.

"I know. Mira I know but, but I'm scared. I just don't know what to make of this, I'm just scared." I whimpered. I started to cry again and Mira gripped me harder.

"Don't be afraid." She coaxed, "I know this looks bad, but don't be afraid. This isn't the end of anything, but the beginning of something new. You have me to help you through this. Once this whole war is settled we can figure stuff out from there."

I went quiet, thinking about what she said. I knew what she said was true, so I pulled away and smiled at her, "Mind if I borrow your shoulder?" She smiled back and nodded. We stood there in each other's arms for hours. I slept all day, and soon it was time to go.

Leo greeted me as he'd normally would. Kathy did her usual thing. Dan was standing there, the only person that was sane out of the three. The meeting started with Dan giving his reports, "I hope you all had a good vacation. First off, since last time we've gained an additional 5000 troops join us. Quite a few of the humans that joined claim that they were former Knights that served under you, Jacob. They showed me this medallion as confirmation." He raised up a black medallion that had 'tgifh ot het nde' which meant 'fight to the end'.

"Yep. They're definitely my former troops." I replied.

Dan continued, "Okay, they requested to see you after this meeting. Next up are reports of more humans befriending all the other races, even though it's not much it shows that there is hope for peace. One last thing, we've started our own research and development. That's all for now, meeting is over." Before Dan left I asked where my former troops were. He said over in one of the barracks.

Mira tagged along, "So who are these guy?" She asked.

"We were known as the 50 man army. We were second to the boss's squad themselves.

The last raid I ever did was with them, and as you know I ran away during the raid. The last I heard about them was that they were still with the Knights." I explained, "They probably might act a bit hostile at first because I look different, but they're nice people."

"I hope you're right." Mira said nervously.

It was obvious which barracks they were at, since everyone else was avoiding the building like it was plague ridden. As soon as we walked in we were ever so kindly greeted by the men. "Oh look fellas. Another one has come to fight us because of our past." A rather large and muscly man said.

"Look you two." A slim man said, "We are through with all that stuff. We want to help your freakin races not be annihilated by the Knights."

An average looking man came walking forward, "However, if you insist on fighting I'd be happy to administer your beat down." Including those three there were nine others in the room.

I sighed, "Is this how you guys have been treating the other soldiers?"

"Hey it's not our fault. You people can't let go of a grudge." Someone else said.

"Well you can't blame them. We did do such terrible things as our time as Knights." I replied.

"You, a Knight? Don't insult us. First off you're not even human. And second of all you're too weak." The skinny man said.

I smiled, "Is that any way to treat your former leader?"

The average looking guy quickly stepped forward, "Who do ya think you are? Claiming to be our leader. Jacob wasn't any stinking Dragonkin, he was human!"

"Whoa whoa, settle down Feisty. You could say I've 'changed' since we last met." I laughed, the group was not amused. "Still, I guess you need some proof. Tiny," I pointed at the large, muscular man, "Jacob was the only one who was able stop your punches with one hand. Was he not?"

Tiny scowled at me, "Yeah. What, are you saying I should test you?"

I nodded, "It's the best way that I can think of right now." I positioned myself, "So c'mon. Lay it on me." Tiny got up and accepted the challenge. He got up close and wound up for his punch. He let it fly, and I stopped it without flinching. The impact cracked the concrete floor below me.

Tiny stepped back in awe, "Ca...Captain. It is you." The whole group gasped. "What happened to you?"

"I have been through some 'life changes'." I laughed, Mira also laughed a bit. Apparently the guys hadn't noticed her until now.

"And who is this young lady?" Tiny asked. Mira hid behind me.

"Don't worry Mira. Tiny may look scary but he's actually a big teddy bear." I assured her. She stepped out from behind me and stood right next to me, grasping my arm. "She's usually not this shy, but hey, if I was in a room with a bunch of ugly men I didn't know I'd be scared too." A collection of laughter filled the room.

Once every one calmed down, Hawkeye, the slim man, asked, "So tell us what happened to you, boss. Why do you look like that?" I told my story in detail, leaving out the most recent events.

"And I thought we had it rough." Tiny said.

"Hey boss, could you show us your transformation?" Feisty asked.

I sadly shook my head, "I forgot to tell you. I'm no longer any part human, the essence has absorbed my human self. So now I've become a Dragonkin." The looks on the men's faces were depressing, so I said, "Hey don't worry guys. I didn't really lose much, besides, I can fly now. Come on outside I'll show you what I can do." Their moods brightened up and we all headed outside. They were absolutely astonished that I could fly, and after that was done we all got caught up with each other. They decided to leave the Knights because of similar reasons. "Don't worry about the other soldiers from now on. I'll talk to them, I have gained much respect so I'm sure I can get them to back off. But no promises."

I guessed I slept to much the day before coming because I couldn't sleep at all. I took a walk outside the base. There was a large oak tree out in the field that I found my way to. I sat down and stared at the bright moon. I held my hand in front of me and examined my new green, and scaly skin. "So it's true, you have become a Dragonkin." A voice came from the other side of the tree.

"You know it's dangerous to be behind enemy lines, Trevor." I replied.

"I know. But am I truly your enemy?" He asked. "I know you noticed that something was off when you came to visit me."

"Yeah, you're never a busy man." I laughed. "Joking aside, I did indeed notice something was amiss. Whenever you have called a 'treaty' in the past the HQ was bustling with people from villages all around. However, it felt empty when I came by."

"Indeed it was. Even in times of great terror people would come by." He replied. There was a long silence.

"So how's his majesty, the so called tyrannical king?" I asked.

"He's getting worse and worse. Right he's lying down in his bed, most likely taking his last breaths of air. As for his son." Trevor's tone darkened, "His hunger for power is becoming increasingly dangerous with every essence he accumulates."

"I feel bad for the king, having been branded horrible because of his son's wrong doings." I looked at my hands again, "I fear the prince most of all, Trevor. If one essence absorbs the soul of a person compatible with it, what will many do to a person who's incompatible."

Trevor sighed deeply, "For the sake of our futures, hopefully death is what will await him."

"I feel foolish for not noticing the people that we were fighting weren't who I thought they were. Although the Knights would have done these types of things in the past, I'd forgotten one very important detail." I said.

"Because of your actions during your last raid most of us saw what we were doing was very wrong." Trevor continued, "Soon after you left, I ripped up the contract that we made with the prince. He got mad and bribed a lot of the men into joining his army."

I looked down at the ground, "It took me all this time to figure it out, Trevor. The Knights themselves were never the ones who were attacking us. Thanks to you calling that truce made the prince stop his attacks, because he didn't want people to find out that these attacks were being directed by him."

"You've changed, Jacob." Trevor said.

"Yes, in more ways in one. But is that really a bad thing?" I responded.

Trevor chuckled to himself, "No, I suppose not." We sat there on opposite sides of the tree, and enjoyed the sounds of the night for a bit. Then Trevor said, "It's been a long time since we were able to talk like this, hasn't it brother?"

"It sounds odd, you calling me brother after all that has happened to me." I smiled to myself.

Trevor walked over to my side and held out his hand, I grasped it and got up. "You may be a Dragonkin now, Jacob, but you'll always be my brother. I must go now, take care." Trevor turned around and sped off into the night.

I looked up into the tree, "You know, eavesdropping is a very bad habit you guys." Mira and Kathy jumped out of the tree. "By the way, Kathy. I've been meaning to ask you, why are you always trying to sneak up on me?"

"I don't know." She answered, "Maybe because I don't have anything better to do? Something like that."

"Uh-huh, right..." I said, puzzled by her answer. I looked at Mira, and waited for her response to what she witnessed.

"Jacob, I didn't quite follow what just happened. So much backstory, and all of it right out of the blue." She was confused.

I gave a little grin, "I guess it was a lot to take in. In short, the Knights, the real ones, never attacked us. I just assumed they were Knights because many of the troops used to be in the Knights before that last raid." I paused for a minute, to see if any of the two had any questions.

Mira did, "What about Trevor?" She asked, "You said he's your brother. Does that mean that you two founded the Knights? Trevor is the leader, right?"

I shook my head, "No. The Knights have been around for a long time. The previous leader we served under died from an illness. Before he died he passed leadership to Trevor. It was Trevor who eventually saw the problem with the Knights, and he made it right." I sighed, "At least that was what he hopped. However, the Knights name had already been bathed in blood, which is why I'd assume that they were the ones attacking the villages." I smiled, "Pretty crazy huh?"

"Yeah. You're just chock full of surprises, Jacob." Mira joked. We laughed for a bit.

I looked back up at the tree. "Hey Mira, you know what I find strange?" Mira shook her head. I smiled, "I can understand you always keeping an eye on me. However," I raised my voice a bit, "I don't know why all of the guys are here." There was no response, I smiled mischievously at Mira, "Watch this." I stepped back from the big oak tree, then charged at the tree and hit it with my shoulder.

The tree shook violently, 13 men fell out and landed with a thud. Most of them were laid out on the ground groaning in pain, while the others were able to land on their feet. "What was that for, boss?" Tiny complained.

"Eavesdropping." I growled, which is something I can do now and it'll make sense. With that we all headed back and went to sleep. The next morning I made sure to make it known to Dan that the real Knights broke off from the king's control some time ago. He made the announcement to the troops and any heat between everyone and the former Knights died down a bit.

Dan came to me and asked for a favor. "Jacob, our new R & D team could use some help. Most of them aren't trained for advance technologies."

"So you want me to help." I said. "Well lucky for us some of the former Knights that joined happened to be from the Knights Research and Development team. I can get them to help. I'll go get them." Dan nodded his head and I set out to find them.

I found them hanging out in the mess hall. Gadget, one of the 13 men, perked up when he saw me. "Hey there captain. Need something?"

"Actually, yes. We've just created an R & D team, however we're in need of experienced scientists. You think you and your team is up to it?" I asked.

"Yeah!" Gadget said excitedly. "C'mon guys let's move out." The group and started heading off to do their new jobs.

I stopped Gadget and whispered, "You must not make that terrible weapon. Understood?" I commanded. He nodded and ran off to do his thing. For the rest of the day I just wandered around the base, helping out who I could. Training, building new buildings, even cooking. For several days, there were no attacks and absolutely nothing to do. That was until I received a message from a very unique group of individuals.

"I've got some mail for you, Jacob." Dan handed me an envelope, sealed with a unique seal.

"A dragon?" Mira stared at it, puzzled. "I don't know anyone with that type of signature."

"Mira, what do you know about dragons, I mean real dragons." I asked.

"Dragons?" She thought about the question, "Aren't they like huge versions of Dragonkin but feral looking?"

I nodded, "You'd be correct, that's what the eldest of dragons look like." I paused, "However, when Dragonkin came into existence newer generations of dragons changed shape. They've literally become giant versions of Dragonkin." I stopped to make sure she was still following before continuing, "But their similarities don't go much farther than that. Where Dragonkin have features closer to humans, dragons still retain many feral features. You can definitely notice the difference if you've seen one walk."

Mira got lost in thought, trying to picture what they look like. Then she made an expression that looked like she'd just remembered something. "How do you know all of this? I thought dragons disappeared a long time ago."

"That's what they wanted us to think." Dan cut in. "It is true that they disappeared, but it was just from here." He pointed off towards a large mountain range in the distance, "That's where they live now, outside this kingdom borders." He looked back to us, "They moved because of the Dragonkin incident. At least, that's what they say." Dan turns around and walks away.

"I guess Dan covered the reason why they disappeared." I looked off towards the mountains, "As for why I already knew this; it was during a mission. I received orders from the king himself to go assist a village outside our boarders, it'd make the kingdom look good I thought. I was sent alone to aid the village."

"Why did they need aid?" Mira interrupted.

I turned back to her, "Monsters." Mira looked shocked, "You heard right, I said monsters. You may not know this, but the reason we never see monsters in our kingdom is because long ago mages set up barrier crystals around our border." I paused, "Anyway, back to my story. The town was under constant threat from monster attacks. I was sent to bring them a small barrier crystal. On my way there I heard what sounded like a fight going on behind some trees. What I saw put me in a state of awe, a dragon, a real live dragon was being attacked by a pack of huge wolfs." I gestured just how tall they were, "The wolves were overwhelming it. I jumped in and helped it out."

"Wow." Mira said in awe, "A real dragon, and you saved it." She looks at the unopened letter, "Maybe that's a thank you letter."

"If it is, its several years late." I replied.

"So." She said impatiently, "What does it say?"

I opened the letter and read aloud. "Dear Jacob the human, " I paused and gave a slight laugh. "We have recently learned of some frightful events going on in your kingdom. We request you come and see us as soon as you get this message. Signed, the elder council." My eyes widened, "I've got to go."

"Wait, hold on!" Mira called after me. "What's the rush?"

"Let's just say that the elder council, a council of dragons, isn't fond of tardiness. I've seen what they do, and as far as know they wouldn't treat me any different." I sighed, "Yes, you can come. But, try to keep up." We geared up and flew out. We could only get halfway to the mountain range before the wind nearly knocked us out of the sky, forcing us to land. "Dammit." I silently cursed to myself.

Mira was breathing heavily besides, "Jacob. Why...did...the wind...pick up so quickly?" She leaned up against a tree.

I looked at the mountains ahead, "It's coming from the mountains, most likely for deterring unwanted visitors." I drew my sword, "We walk from here. Keep your eyes and ears open, dangerous foes lie in these woods." We cautiously trekked our way towards the mountains. Lucky for us, the winds most likely kept any monsters at bay. As we neared the mountains the wind was so strong it was hard to keep my balance.

"Jacob!" I heard Mira yell over the howling wind, "I can't hold out much longer! The wind is too strong!" I saw her being pushed back by the wind.

I carefully made my way back to her. I grabbed her hand and brought her to me, "Hop on!" I told her, she stood behind me and I picked her up. I stomped both feet three times. I had anticipated this wind so I asked the lab boys to cook up a pair of special hiking cleats, every time my foot made contact with something hard; like rock, spikes would pop out of them and retract when I lifted them up. These boots made the trip a bit easier, but it still took all of my strength to move through the powerful winds.

Finally, we reached the base of the mountains, past this point there was no wind. I set Mira down and walked along the base of the mountain. Mira was quiet, observing what I was doing. Suspense got to her so she asked what I was looking for. I told her that there was a secret entrance. The thing is, it's hiding in plain sight, the hardest type of entrance to locate if you don't know what you're looking for. It took a bit, but I found it. Five areas in the stone that were a different color than the stone around it. "Let's see if I remember the code." I muttered. I didn't, however the council was kind enough to write it down for me in the letter.

"How do they even write a letter that isn't the size of a cow?" Mira randomly asked.

"Magic, Mira. They do it with magic." I sarcastically answered. I punched in, literally punched in the last bit of the code and a nearby bit of the mountain opened up. Since this was the first time Mira had seen something like this she just stood there gawking at the mysterious contraption. I dragged her inside, the door closed behind us. Mira was still in awe so I had to snap her out of it before I could continue.

"Where do we go now?" She asked. "This big room is nothing but a circle, there's no door." She walked the length of the room like a trapped animal.

"Mira." I said. She looked at me, confusion all over her face. "Look up."

All she said was, "Oh..." The room was designed with flight in mind, and the only way to go is up. I commanded her to follow me and to stay close.

I told her a few things before we exited the room. "Listen carefully. These dragons don't get many visitors so don't be alarmed if they come up to look at you. A lot of the dragons still hold mixed feelings against Dragonkin, so as soon as we get up there use this." I handed her a crystal, "This is a disguise crystal, modified to be 10 times more effective. Meaning that even the keen eye of most of these dragons won't see through our illusion. The downside is that we can't fly up to our destination."

Mira sighed, "So we have to climb, right?" I nodded. I pulled out a pair of gloves and handed it to Mira, I took a pair out for myself. Mira looked at the odd gloves, "And what are these?"

"Remember the power gloves I had way back?" Mira nodded, "Well these gloves have the same concept but are designed for climbing than hitting things." We put on our gloves and activated our disguises, "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. I had your boots equipped with the same modification I have. Just do what I do to activate it." With preparations complete we walked out of the room.

If I asked you what type of place an area populated by dragons looked like, you'd probably say a bunch of caves in a mountain. Normally you'd be right, if the dragon's appearance hadn't changed. Yes, they still lived in caves. However, these caves had doors, lighting, a fire place, and many other things. That's just their 'houses', the mountain itself had been shaped to look like a town, and they even had street lamps and stairs. Unfortunately, these stairs were designed for dragons. Beings several times bigger than me, therefore meaning stairs three times my size. The entrance only took us half way up the mountain, and we needed to get to the top. "So high up." Mira complained. Something caught her eye and she gasped. "Jacob!" She whispered worriedly, "Look!" Over to our right was a dragon taking a stroll on the ginormous sidewalk. It was one from the newer generation. "You were right, they do have a similar appearance compared to us. But still very different." She hid behind me as the dragon came closer to our position.

"Don't worry Mira. We will be fine." I bluntly stated. As far as I could tell, it wasn't aware of our presence. So I stood there and waited for it to pass. However, when it was almost right in front of us, Mira panicked and dragged me behind a big rock.

"Hmm?" The dragon had heard Mira drag me behind the rock, but he ignored it and went on his way.

I turned to Mira, "What were you thinking!?" I angrily said.

"I'm...I'm sorry. I got scared for some reason." She said apologetically.

I calmed down, "It's okay. Mira, I promise you that I won't let you get hurt. Now, we must make our way up there. And for goodness sake, don't worry about the dragons, if they bother us I'll handle it. Okay?" Mira took a deep breath and nodded. Did I mention how big this area was? We watched the dragon causally stroll to the nearby stairs fairly quickly, but it took us twice as long by running there! Luckily the stairs itself wasn't perfect. They had several footholds and edges for us to climb. We reached the top of the first set of steps; 6 in total; and collapsed. Exhausted and sore as hell we laid on the side of the 'street' for a short break.

"Awwww." Mira groaned. "Look at all those steps we have to climb." She pointed out the path we had to take. I counted 11 more sets of stairs with 6 steps on each; you have to admire their consistency. What really got to me was the long, final set of stairs leading up to our destination. "Are...you sure...we can't...fly...to there?" Mira asked in between breaths.

"Trust me. The last time I was here most dragons didn't have anything nice to say about Dragonkin. Not anything violent, but still, it'd be best if we had our true form from them." I replied. We caught our breath and proceeded to the next set of stairs, then the next. By the time we finished the fourth set our arms and legs felt like they'd fallen off.

"Jacob. I don't think I can go on." Mira weakly said.

"Hold on. Let me check my bag, I may have something to help us." I rummaged through my bag and pulled out some water and some pills.

"Uh, what are those?" Mira asked.

I examined them closely, "Uhh. They could be pain pills, pain dampeners, or energy capsules." I questionably said. Mira gave me a concerning look. I looked more closely, but still couldn't figure it out. "Whelp! Only one way to find out." I popped in a pill, "Hmm. I remember why I was confused, this is a three-in-one pill. I made it myself, I even got a patent for it." I gave Mira one along with some water. "Only downside is that they're not as effective as one would hope." After the quick break we set out again.

Feeling a bit refreshed we made our way to the next set. I wasn't really paying attention to our surroundings until Mira gripped onto my arm. I looked up and saw a dragon passing us. At first I didn't make anything of it at, but something about this this dragon made me look at it again, and it seemed that the dragon had done the same. "Jacob?" He said.

"Jim? Is that you?" I replied.

"It's been some time. What are you doing here?" Jim gleefully asked.

I held out the letter, "The elder council wants to see me for some reason."

"Really now." He looks towards the place we need to go, "That's quite the walk your hands. Amazing you've made it this far alive."

"Yeah, yeah we do." I said, unhappy about that detail.

"Huh? We?" Jim hadn't noticed Mira, which seems to happen a lot, until I made her show herself. Jim noticed how nervous she was so he knelt down to get to eye-level, at least, as close as he could get by kneeling. I could tell it made her feel less nervous, but not by much. "Hello there, ma'am. What's your name?" Jim politely asked.

Mira looked at me, I gave her a reassuring look. She looked back and said, "My name is Mira." She shyly said.

"First time seeing a dragon, huh?" Jim asked. Mira nodded sheepishly and Jim smiled, "Don't worry, not many people do."

I thought of an idea, "Hey Jim, could you do us a favor?" Jim nodded. "Could you give us lift to the elder council, at the rate we were going we'd be there by tomorrow morning."

"Sure. Hop up on my shoulders." He happily replied. He picked me up and placed me on his shoulder. For Mira, he held out his hand and we had to coax her to get on the other one. Soon we were making our way there. "So Jacob, what have you been up to?" Jim asked.

"Being the good guy of course. I've been protecting others from harm." I replied.

"You must have been protecting a Dragonkin village recently. You both smell like a Dragonkin more than a human." Jim commented

"Yeah," I laughed nervously, "but it's under control now."

"Is there something you're hiding from me, Jacob?" Jim was suspicious of my behavior.

"A lot actually. Let's just say things have changed since we last met." I answered truthfully. There was an awkward silence.

Surprisingly, it was Mira that broke the silence. "Jim, what's your opinion on Dragonkin?" She asked.

"Dragonkin?" Jim thought for a moment, "What do I think of the Dragonkin? I've never thought about it. I guess I think of them as just another living thing. I don't have any negative feelings towards them if that's what you're asking." Jim answered. "Why'd you ask?"

"Because, umm." Mira looked to me for help.

I looked around to see if there were any other dragons around. "Remember when I said things have changed?" Jim nodded. "What I should have said is that I've changed."

"Changed?" Jim was puzzled, "What do you mean by 'change'?"

"Jim, I've been using a disguise crystal this whole time." Jim stopped and looked over at me. "Don't freak out. I'm going to briefly lower my disguise." I moved the crystal away from my body, briefly revealing my true form.

"What happened to you?" Jim asked. I told him the story behind this form. "Wow. What a tale." Is all he said.

"One thing I'm hoping for is that the council can't see past this disguise and that they still think I'm human. They're probably too observant to fall for it, but it's worth a shot." I replied, looking at the bright-side of things.

"Then we better hurry." Jim picked up the pace and we reached there in no time.

I hopped down, and Jim helped Mira down. "Thanks for the help, Jim." I thanked him.

"Anytime. You should visit more often." Jim replied. We waved goodbye and headed into the huge cave. It was dark, no lights were on.

"Maybe they aren't here?" Mira suggested.

I shook my head, "No, they're always here. This is where they live, there are separate rooms for all of them. If anyone enters this place there is a mechanism alerts them of their arrival." I grabbed the hilt of my sword. I kept having this feeling that something was off. Then the entrance closed behind us.

"It's too dark. I can't see much of anything." Mira nervously said.

"I thought we could see in the dark." I felt disappointed.

"We can, but not as good as a Creature can." Mira corrected.

I opened and felt around for something. "Ah-ha!" I exclaimed. I pulled out a crystal and shook it. It started to glow, providing us with some light.

"That bag is just full of convenient items." Mira sarcastically commented. With a light in hand we set out to where we need to go. A couple hundred yards later we arrived at the stone door.

I banged my hand on the door, "Hello! It's me, Jacob!" I called out, no answer. I sighed, "Looks like have to do this the hard way." Mira tilted her head. "This door is able to be pushed open. However, it's meant for strength of a dragon. But if we work together we can get it open using our power gloves." We found the side that doesn't have the hinges on it and pushed as hard as we could. We managed to get it open enough for us to slip through. A few moments after walking in I heard heavy footsteps. Hoping that it was one of the council members I called out to it. The footsteps turned and came our way. I heard a loud 'swoosh' heading at me. I quickly drew my sword and barely stopped a giant sword from splitting me open. The lights suddenly switched on and I saw who my attacked was.

"Is that a...giant troll?" Mira shakily said. The beast was at least two and a half times taller than we were and was wielding a giant sword.

"So that's why no one was here. They're all cowering in their rooms." I said aloud. Mira gave me a funny look, so I said, "Giant trolls frighten some dragons. Think of it like this, dragons are frightened by trolls like some of us are frightened by regular rats." The giant swung at us again and we rolled out of the way. "The difference is that they have a reason to be a little scared, giants can have swords." I explained. I threw Mira a crystal and told her it was a cloaking crystal. I asked her to go and find the council members and tell them their little pest problem will be shortly dealt with.

She ran off and vanished from sight. I turned my attention towards the giant and already figured out an easy plan to take it down. I ran at the giant and went for its legs. The giant fell forward, giving me the perfect opportunity to stab its neck. The dead giant was too heavy to move out of the way so I left it there and chased after Mira. I heard Mira scream, running around a corner with a three giants on her tail. I ran at the nearby wall and ran up it, jumping at the highest point I reached and landed on his shoulders. I jumped from giant to giant, killing them in the process. More trolls rounded the corner, too many in fact. "Mira. Are the council members in their rooms still?" I asked.

"There all in one room. Why did you ask?" Mira responded.

I threw Mira my disguise crystal, "The crystal is preventing me from using my full power. Get away from here, things are going to get messy." Mira slowly backed away. Once she got a safe distance I started focusing my energy, however, this time something was odd. I couldn't tell what it was, but it was definitely something new. I charged at the trolls, and used the same tactic for the first one I killed. However, when I slashed at the leg, I cut straight though it as if it was made of butter. I momentarily got distracted by this action, leaving an opening for the trolls. I was slapped into a wall, leaving a small crater in it.

I fell off and hit the ground. I got the wind knocked out of me, and was coughing out blood. I slowly rose to my feet and whipped the blood off my face. I shook myself back into focus and took to the air. Constantly swooped down at them like a hawk, taking them down one by one. My luck ran out, a troll hit me out of the air like a fly. I was able to land on my feet, but I still got injured by the impact. Only two left, I dodged their attacks until I could get an opening. I dispatched them quickly, "Mira. It's safe, I'll put these bodies off to the side. Hand me the disguise crystal, you go get the council while I clean up." I ordered. I didn't look at her and waited to move until after she'd left. For some reason I was now able to push these corpses by myself. I leaned against a wall when I finished, I started coughing up blood, "Dammit, I must have broken a rib and punctured something." I coughed some more, and more blood came out. I felt all over my chest to confirm whether or not I'd broken something. "What the hell?" I didn't feel any broken bones, but I was still coughing up blood. My legs felt weak, and sat down, "Maybe...I ruptured something? But what? I don't feel like anything is out of place, " I coughed up more blood, "except my blood." A pool of blood started forming around me, and with the amount of blood I coughed up you'd think I would be suffocating because of it, but I wasn't.

"Jacob!" I heard Mira call out. Her voice seemed so far away, yet she was only a few yards away. I couldn't speak, so I just reached my hand out towards Mira. My hearing was going bad. I could see Mira, along with the council. Mira was yelling at me, but I couldn't hear it. My vision was darkening, I could feel my body go cold and Mira shaking me, trying to keep me awake. The strangest thing about this, is the fact that I didn't feel like I was dying, in fact I felt fine. I coughed one more time, then everything faded to black.

I could hear someone talking but couldn't make out the words. I focused harder but all I could make out was, "...okay...you...down...die...wait..." I couldn't open my eyes, make a sound, or move my body. I felt someone grab my hand, then a pressure on my chest. As soon as I felt the drops of moisture I knew it was Mira, and she was crying.

My hearing got a bit better, "Jacob...up. Please...alright. I need..." It was definitely Mira. With any strength I had at the moment, I slightly gripped her hand. My hearing improved more, the sound was still a bit muffled but I could easily make out the words she was saying, "Jacob?" I felt her put her ear to my chest, "Hey! I can hear his heart beating!" She called out to someone. "And he's breathing again!" Wait, I hadn't been breathing until now!? How am I alive?

My strength was slowly coming back. First my mortar skills came back, moving my limbs ever so slightly. Next came my sight, and apparently my eyes were never closed. I was temporary blind. I closed my painfully dry eyes, and opened them when they felt better. I turned my head, Mira's tear-filled eyes were gazing happily at me, and I mustered up the best smile I could manage. I slowly and painfully got up, Mira basically tackled me when I did. I still couldn't speak, so all that came out of my mouth was, "ugh!" Mira let me go. I started coughing again, but this time no blood spewed out. I started breathing heavily, I coughed again and surprisingly I could talk again. "Geez, Mira your 'happy that you're alive' hug; it felt like I was going snap in half." I joked. Mira gave me a lighthearted grin. I started chuckling, but it eventually turned into a violent cough.

"Jacob? Stay here, I'll go get someone." Mira ran off. I covered my mouth and the coughing got worse.

My coughing died down, and when I pulled my hand from my face, it was covered in blood. "Dammit! What the hell is wrong?" I said aloud.

"Nothing is physically wrong with you." I turned to the direction of the voice. It a dragon, one from the elder council. "It has to do with your soul. What you have inside you is not the essence of a Dragonkin, like you thought you had. It was from a Dragon, and no human has ever successfully been able to control one." He said sullenly.

"So...what's happening to me?" I nervously asked.

"Your human soul has already been devoured, has it not?" I nodded, "Well, now it's devouring you entirely." He had a grim expression on his face.

"Is there anything I can do?" I asked.

"There is only one way we can think of. Regaining control over your soul. This was the reason we requested that you come. We knew of what has been going on in your kingdom, and about you. There is nothing else we can do but help you." He set down a large crystal next to me. A green light formed around it, like a bubble. I felt strange, a calming feeling washed over me. "This crystal will slow down the essence. You must gain control, otherwise you will die." My heart sank when he mentioned death. The Dragon left the room.

I crawled over to the crystal and leaned up against it, Mira sat next to me. "Jacob." Mira had a worried and scared expression, "Will you be able to do this? Can you regain control of your soul?"

I held out my hand to Mira, she grasped it. "Mira, could you do me a favor?" I asked, she nodded. "I don't know whether or not I'll be able to overcome this. Honestly, I'm scared. So, could you stay by my side?" I asked. With tears in her eyes, she nodded. "Thank you, Mira." I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

"This place again." I was back in the white void, where my soul, or souls, was. I heard a deep growl from behind me. I turned and was face to face with a dark dragon with red eyes.

He had an evil grin stretched across his face, "We meet again, Jacob."

"I thought I told you to ever show yourself again." I snarled at him.

He laughed, "Yes, yes you did. But it was different then, I hadn't reached my true form." I felt that something was off, he continued talking, "The last time we met I did not tell you something. Instead of telling you the truth I decided to mislead you by saying that I was your evil ego. The truth, however, is that I'm the Dragon's Essence itself."

I took a step back, "The...Essence?" I stuttered, I felt, afraid. I took a deep breath, then my fear became anger, "I get it. I know you devoured my human soul, and for that I should actually thank you." This time the dragon took a step back, but in confusion. "That's right. At first I'd thought lost everything, however I realized that I didn't lose anything important."

"How...how can you say you didn't lose anything? You lost your identity, you're forced to be a Dragonkin forever now." He seemed angry.

I shook my head, "The only thing I lost was just my human form. Because you took that away I had someone have to teach me a valuable lesson. It's not how one looks that determines their identity, its ones character. How they interact with the world around them, their hobbies, likes and dislikes. That is what defines one identity."

He started slowly clapping his hands, "What a touching little speech, it got me all teary eyed." He sarcastically said, "Too bad it'll be the last one you'll tell. You'll be dead before long, and there is nothing you can do about it."

"I'm not going to lie down and die, I will control you." I materialized a sword into my hand, "and there's nothing you can do about it."

"Let's see you back those words up." He materialized a huge sword as well. He swung at me with amazing speed and strength. I successfully blocked it, but the impact tossed me into the air. I corrected myself and started flying, he swung at me again and I dodged it. I took this opportunity to strike, I swooped down and cut a gash in his arm. He roared out in pain and dropped his sword, "You little insect!" He yelled. He swiftly smacked me out of the air straight to the ground. He then hit me with his tail before I landed on the ground like I was a baseball. I went sailing through the air, then tumbled several yards before coming to a stop.

"Ung..." I moaned as I shakily stood up and stared at the ground, trying to regain my balance. I looked up and he was already on top of me, unleashing a devastating kick that rocketed me up into the air. At that moment a thought crossed my mind, does this place have a ceiling? The answer was no, the dragon had flown up above me and punched me out of the air and plummeting to the ground where I landed with a huge crash. He was too fast, too strong for me. Time to step it up, I focused and powered up.

However, I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I started to violently cough, blood pouring out of my mouth. "Hahaha!" The dragon laughed, "Trying to tap into your power, huh? All that's going to do for you is quickening the process of your death." He ran at me again and slashed at me, I dodged and hit his leg and jumped over his tail swipe.

"If that's the case, I'll just stop you without the using any power." I replied with confidence. I found a simple routine to take him down, a hit and run tactic. However, he caught onto this and started moving faster deflecting my attacks. I dodged one of his attacks, but he anticipated which direction I'd move and hit me so hard I almost blacked out. Once again I was soaring across the ground, ending up several yards away. I couldn't move, the dragon's footsteps get closer.

I closed my eyes, preparing for what was to come. But then I heard a voice. "Jacob!" It echoed. In a sudden flash I was back in the real world, but it was more like an out of body type deal. I saw Mira shaking me, "Jacob! Jacob stay with me! Please hang in there!" I looked closely at my body to see what she was on about. I saw myself, lying on the ground in a pool of blood, coughing violently. Another flash, I was back in the white space, the dragon's large sword pointed at my head.

"This is where you beg for your life. Not that it'll matter." The foe smiled menacingly.

I spat some blood, "Never." I glared at my enemy, who was towering over me.

"As you wish." The dragon raised his sword. I closed my eyes awaiting the cold hands of death.

"Jacob!" I heard Mira's voice echo in my head, "Please, don't die!" My eyes sprang open, the sword was plummeting right at me. I raised my hand and stopped the blade. I moved it aside and it plunged into the ground beside me. I slowly got up and glared at my startled foe.

"Why...why are you using your power. It'll only kill you faster." The dragon stuttered.

I coughed up blood and said, "Not if...I defeat you...before that happens." I let out a dragon like roar, then charged at my enemy. I jump-kicked him and he fell to the ground, I coughed up more blood and felt myself getting weaker. I pinned him down and pointed my sword at his neck, "This is the part where you beg for your life." I threatened.

"Ha, nice one. If you kill me you might also die." He nervously replied.

I started slowly plunging my sword into his shoulder, "That's a risk I'm willing to take."

He started yelling in pain, but I didn't let up. "Okay! Okay...agh! You win, please stop!" He begged.

I stopped pushing, but kept the sword in his shoulder. "First you have to agree to obey me. To stop consuming my soul, you will be under my control." He nodded quickly, "And if you decide to get smart and not listen," I thrusted the sword deeper, "I'll end you." He yelled out in pain and agreed. I yanked out the sword and the white space faded around me. I was back in my body, lying in a pool of my blood, Mira crying beside me. "Why are you crying?" I weakly replied, slowly getting back up and leaning against the crystal.

"Jacob! You're alive!" Mira started to lunge at me for a hug, but I stopped her because I was covered in blood. "You...you fell over. Your eyes...they started...to become cloudy. Then you started coughing violently and blood was coming out. Then you...then you...stopped breathing." Mira started crying. I put my non-bloody hand on her shoulder and smiled.

I heard a large pair footsteps rush into the room. "Jacob?" It was Jim. He looked around the room, a small wet towel in his hand. He spotted us and ran over. "There you are!" He noticed all the blood, "Man, what happened to you? You're practically drenched in blood." I explained to him what had happen, then asked why he was here. "I heard that something went down in this building after you went in. I ran inside and saw all the bodies and the large pool of blood. They said it was from you so I came to find you. I brought this towel because I assumed you would be covered in blood." He tossed me the towel and I wiped off the blood. I leaned up against the crystal and passed out.

The next morning I felt refreshed and ready to go. Mira and I said our goodbyes and flew back to the base. We'd been gone for at least two days, so we received the report of what had happened since then. The king had kicked the bucket and the prince was now in charged. Just as we predicted he ordered that all Creatures, Dragonkin, and humans who defy the new king be exterminated. However, many of their attempts have been put to a halt by some unknown ally, I could guess who. Any other attempts have been stopped by the growing resistance. Spies from inside the castle report that the prince's behavior has been strange. He is more aggressive and unforgiving, executing anyone that does even the tiniest of things wrong. He's also got the queen and princess locked away. His own army has slowly started to abandon him. Overall, things had been fine.

The lab-boys had invented some form a new transportation, they called it a motorcycle. Like a bicycle, but bigger and with a motor. They have created two, and one of them was just for me. I had nothing better to do, so I decided to take it for a spin. It was fast, very fast. Even though this was faster than flying, I didn't enjoy it as much. Not that it wasn't enjoyable, I just prefer flying, but I didn't tell them that and just smile and nodded.

I was worried about the souls the prince had supposedly been forcefully consuming. I wondered if we just left him alone, if he'd just die, like I almost did. It would make sense, if he has to devour them by force he wouldn't be compatible and would be consumed easier. The next day a spy came back with some information that confirmed my suspicions. Apparently, the prince has been coughing violently, and blood has been pouring out of his mouth with no known reason. He was dying, that was certain. I told the other generals that we don't need to worry about him.

"So you're saying that he'll die on his own soon? Just because of a bloody cough?" Leo questioned. I nodded in response. "But how do you know?"

"Because," I gave him a serious stare, "I went through it myself. That's why I took so long getting back, I was busy dying. The symptoms that had been reported, are exactly like I had."

Leo pounded the table, "But you're still alive!" He pointed his finger at me, "How can we be sure that he won't survive!"

I slammed both hands on the table then pointed back, "Because, I was compatible with the soul to begin with! However, the prince is not." I crossed my arms, "So tell me, if someone who was compatible almost died because of the soul itself, what would happen to someone who isn't. Not to mention the number of souls he's devoured."

Dan nodded, "Hmmm, one would assume death to be a certainty." He said. Leo stood silently.

"What worries me is what happens after he dies. I will eventually go see him for myself. For now, keep me posted on his condition." I started to walk out then remembered something. "I almost forgot. I would like to request some time off, as some for Mira as well if she decides to follow me."

"What for?" Leo asked. He looked at me a different way than he used to, with very little hostility, which made me feel like I'd accomplished something.

"I've been through a lot, like almost dying, I need some time off to think about things. As for the reason for asking if Mira could also get some time off," I shifted, "for someone to talk to." I replied.

Leo gave me a 'just to talk with?' look when I mentioned Mira. "Alright, take as much time as you need. We got this conflict in the bag anyway." I thanked him and walked out.

Mira was right outside the door, "Just to have someone to talk to?" Mira teased.

"Yes." I defensively said. "Are you going to come?" I asked.

She pretended to think about it, "Hmm, I don't know...okay!" She walked off and gathered her stuff, I did the same. When we arrived we spotted a small army camp, one of ours. I didn't realize how many towns we protected. We were back at the house, it was just as we left it.

"I'm going to take a shower." I said. I hadn't had a chance to thoroughly clean the blood off me. I put in another power crystal into to power supply, and changed the water crystal as well. I got a towel and ran upstairs to cleanse myself. I'd never realized how relaxing a hot shower could be. I let my mind go completely blank, removing any worries I ever had. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard a knock at the door.

"Can I come in?" Mira asked.

"What do you need?" I replied

"A shower." Mira answered.

"A shower? I'm taking one right now." I said.

"So." Mira bluntly said.

"So?" I sighed, "Hold on." I dried off and threw on a robe. I opened the door to let Mira have her shower, she look disappointed. "What?" I asked.

"I was hoping to take a shower with you." She grumpily said.

"No Mira." Is all I said to that. "Anyway, I just remembered that I had a new room built for a big hot-tub that I need to install."

"Sounds complicated, you need any help?" Mira eagerly asked.

I was about to say no, in a nice way of course, but the look she gave me wouldn't allow me to say no. "Sure. You can help me set it up." I smiled, "Besides, it'll be good to know how it works when you use it." Mira smiled ecstatically and ran into the bathroom to take her shower. I got fully clothed in work clothes, and grabbed my tools. I heard Mira come running down the stairs and without looking at her I said, "You should put some clothes on." Mira nervously chuckled and went back up to get dressed. The job itself was very simple, most of the parts were already assembled. All we needed to do was hook it up. Mira was very inquisitive, constantly asking what this thing was and what that thing is for.

She was so into this, I asked her why she wanted to help so badly. "I guess it's because I wanted to be with you." She happily said. Her answer, honestly, made me blush. I let her do most of the work, instructing her as we went along. In no time the tub was finished. "Yay! C'mon Jacob, let's get in." She started striping down.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Hold on there!" I stopped Mira, who looked at me with a sad face. I thought of a good excuse, "We need to wait until the water heats up, right now it's just cold water." Mira put her hand in the tub and frowned, luckily I was right. Mira wondered off and I turned the hot tub on, so the water could heat up. I went upstairs to find my swimming trunks while I waited. I also grabbed some that I got Mira the last time I went shopping, just a hunch. By the time I came back down the water had fully heated up to the set temperature. I got in, facing away from the entrance, and called out to Mira, "Hot-tub is ready!" I heard her rush inside the room. "Hold it. Your swim suit is over there." I pointed to the towel rack.

"Swim suit?" She complained, "Why do you need to wear a swim suit in a tub?"

"Common curtsy." I replied. "I have one on as well, so put it on." I heard her put it on and she got in next to me. "Mira, you're topless." I said without looking.

"Well you don't have a top on." Mira argued.

"I'm a guy, I don't need one." I rebutted.

"Why not?" Mira demandingly asked.

"Just...don't argue." I asked.

"No." Mira childishly replied. "I demand you tell me why!"

"When you're older." I joked.

"Older! I'm only a year younger than you, you jerk." She chuckled. "But seriously, tell me why."

"Okay fine!" I broke, "Here's why..." I explained to her the reason why I requested she put her top on.

She sat there for a bit, then started laughing, "I'm a full grown woman, Jacob. Of course I know why I should wear a top, I was just messing with you." She calmed down a bit then said, "However, it's too small for me. I can't wear it."

"Okay...I guess I'll just have to deal with 'three' eyes staring at me." I joked. She gave me a friendly punch in the arm.

"Okay." Mira excitedly sat across from me. "So what do you want to talk about?"

"Recent events, I guess." I replied. "What do you think about what has happened so far?" I asked her.

"I heard the R&D team has come up with some pretty neat inventions. They made this thing called a motorcycle. It's supposed to be very fast." She said.

I nodded, "It is. Nearly 200 miles per hour."

"How do you know this?" Mira asked.

"They made one just for me. I prefer flying a bit more than driving the motorcycle to be honest. I have it in the shed out back if you want to give it a try." I offered.

She came over to me and hugged me. "Really?" She excitedly asked, I nodded. "Oh thank you Jacob!" She hopped out and ran off, hopefully to get dressed. I turned off the tub and got dressed as well. We walked out to the shed and I gave Mira instructions about how to work it. The motorcycle was too much for her to handle, so she let me drive. After our little ride Mira had the same opinion as me.

It was getting late, I made us some dinner and we went to bed. I'd grown used to sleeping with Mira. I was fast asleep when Mira woke me up, "What's the matter?" I groggily asked.

"I can't sleep, I need to talk with you about something." Mira nervously said.

I turned over to face her, "You have my full attention." I said.

Mira took a deep breath, "I've been thinking a lot about what's going to happen after this little war is over. I have nowhere to go, my village was destroyed and I have no relatives." Mira began crying.

Hugged her, "Shh, it's going to be fine. After all, you have me." I smiled at her.

"But...but where will I live?" She sniffled.

"With me." I replied.

"You mean it?" She asked.

"Of course you can." I happily replied.

She hugged me tightly. "Thank you so much Jacob." I told her it was no big deal. After a while she nervously asked "Jacob. Could you give me a good night kiss?" She fidgeted. I nodded and gave her a peck on the cheek and smiled. I drifted off to sleep. Mira snuggled up to me and fell asleep. The next morning we decided to check up on the small company of soldiers.

"Halt," the guard said, "civilians can't enter this camp."

I smiled, "Good to see the guards actually guarding instead of loafing around." I cleared my throat, "But you see, I'm no civilian..." I started to say, but was interrupted.

"Jacob? Why are you here?" A familiar voice spoke.

"Captain Kathy!" The soldier turned around, then slowly turned his head, "Jacob?" He spun around and gave me a nervous look, "Ge...General Jacob! I'm so sorry I didn't recognize you!"

"You're a new recruit, aren't you." I gave him a stern look. He nervously nodded, I laughed, "That explains a lot. And don't worry, there was a time I didn't recognize myself." I looked at Kathy, who looked annoyed for some reason. "To answer your question, Kathy, I actually live in this town."

"Really? I never would have guessed." Kathy replied.

"I came over here to see if there has been a status report on the prince's condition." I stated.

"Reportedly dead." Kathy answered. I raised an eyebrow and asked her to explain, "The prince went for a morning walk by himself but never came back. They never found a body, but there was a large pool of blood which led to the belief that he was dead. That's all we know."

Missing is more like it. I had this feeling that he wasn't really dead. "Any reports about the, conditions, of the other bases?" Mira asked.

"Hmm...We lost contact with the company that was protecting a town at the far end of the kingdom just a few minutes ago. It's called Acceso. However, their equipment has had some issues lately so we just thought their com unit was broken." Kathy reported.

I nodded my head, deep in thought. "Thanks for the report." I said, turning around to head back to the house.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Kathy hastily asked.

"To Acceso. They need someone to fix their equipment, right?" I answered, and continued on home. Back at the house, I had some preparations to make. I went into the basement and found a hidden lever, which opened up a secret passage.

"What the? What is in there?" Mira asked in awe of the elaborate door.

"My tinkering room. This is where I create new crystals and inventions, or where I used to make stuff." I blew some dust off a table, "I haven't been down here in a long time." I flipped some switches to turn on some machines I was going to need.

"What are you going to make?" Mira asked.

"You know about the big barrier crystals protecting the kingdom from monsters, right?" Mira nodded, "Well I'm going to make one, on a smaller scale of course." I asked her to grab a box from the other side of the room.

"Why do we need one?" She asked as she grabbed the box.

"Just a hunch." I replied. I got to working on a new barrier crystal. It took a bit but soon one was crafted, and by using a special copier I made several more. "Alright, all I need to do is set these up. Let's go." We planted several of them around the town.

After that was done, Mira asked, "What are we going to do now?"

I grabbed my gear, "Paying a visit to Acceso." I faced Mira. "Something's not right. The prince's body wasn't found. I think the prince is 'dead', but at the same time he's not." I shook my head, "It's hard to explain. After what happened to me, I started to think about what would've died. I just have this hunch that...that something other than dying would have been the result."

"You think that he has...transformed?" Mira deduced.

I nodded, then said, "Maybe not at this moment, but he's getting there."

Mira examined the look on my face. "There's something else that's troubling you. What is it?" Mira asked.

"It's the amount of souls the prince supposedly devoured. He may have absorbed two or three, but I don't think any person could consume several souls, especially someone incompatible with them." I sat down and brought a hand to my chin, getting lost in thought and worry. "I'm worried about what happened to those other souls. I have heard that some of the prince's soldiers have started to act strange. I can only assume..."

Mira cut me off, "That the souls have been given to his own soldiers, probably trying to make some sort of super army." I nodded.

"C'mon, we have to get to Acceso, and fast. I'll get the motorcycle." We got our gear and hopped onto the vehicle. Although I still prefer flying, but speeding across the land at 200 miles per hour is fun.

We were getting close, hen Mira pointed something out. "Jacob! Fire!" Mira yelled over the sound of the engine. Sure enough a thick cloud of smoke, I sped towards a crowd of fleeing people.

It was some of the soldiers from the company in charge of protecting the town escorting civilians. I drove up on a familiar face, Tiny. "Boss! Glad you're here." He called out.

"What happened here?" I asked.

"We were attacked, by what appears to be the prince's troops. Boss, these aren't the same guys as before, it's as if the enemy got some sort of power boost." Tiny explained.

I nodded, "I'll take care of them, and you get these civilians to a safe place." Tiny started to protest, I raised my hand, "That's an order." He sighed and saluted. Mira and I headed into the town. The attackers were reported acting strange, I could tell by the way they moved, something was definitely wrong. The look in their eyes, dead and thoughtless, it was a sad sight. "Mira, stay a few feet back. I'm going to try and confront one." Mira looked worried, "Stop worrying so much. I'll keep a sword pointed at it."

"Okay, I'll keep this pointed at it as well." Mira smirked and pulled out the stun gun I made her, I looked worried this time, "Don't you give me that look! Besides, I've nearly perfected my aim." She confidently said. I nodded and approached a soldier.

"Hello?" I cautiously said. The soldier gave a blank stare. "What's happened to you? Can you understand me?" The soldier slowly walked towards me.

He stopped and grabbed his head and started shouting. I tried to calm him down, but he wouldn't stop. After a few moments he stopped yelling and looked at me. His eyes were back to normal, and he was struggling to keep himself stable. "Please," he cried out, "help me. I don't know what's happening to me. Agh!" He was struggling with every word, it was hard to listen to.

I pulled out a crystal and stared at it, thinking about if it would work. Mira saw it and said, "What magical crystal is that? It looks...evil."

"That's because it is." I lifted it up to the man, "This crystal was named Soul Stealer. It was made long ago with dark magic. I tried to modify it to absorb Dragonkin souls, but I don't know if it'll work."

"Won't stealing his soul kill him?" Mira worriedly asked.

I shook my head, "This man's human soul is still there. If I do this right, I should be able to save him. But I don't know if it'll have any side effects." I grimly replied.

"Just...do...it. Please, end this suffering!" The soldier pleaded. I nodded and pushed the crystal onto his chest. The man started screaming like a banshee and shook violently. Then he started coughing up blood, I started worrying he was going to die anyway, but continued. The shaking, screaming, and coughing stopped and he fell to his hands and knees, breathing heavily.

I knelt down beside him, "How ya feeling?" I helped him up.

"Thank...you." He started crying, and quickly stopped. He looked up at me and looked surprised, "A Dragonkin? You're a Dragonkin!" I gave him a confused look, he backed away slowly, "Why did you help me? Aren't we enemies?" He looked scared and confused.

"That's the way you see it. To me, you were someone who participated in some experiment without knowing the consequence." I firmly answered. "I know what your 'leader' has done to you. Mira, take care of him, I'm going to see if there are others still hanging on." I ran off before Mira could protest. I had to act fast, the town was starting to become an inferno and the mindless soldiers were all over the place. Unfortunately, a lot of the soldiers' souls were lost, even though they hadn't transformed. I didn't have time to fight the lost ones, and I was only able to save 23 others before getting overwhelmed. I ran back to Mira, 23 dazed soldiers following me, and headed for the gate.

The entrance was blocked, there must have been 90 mindless soldiers blocking our only escape. "C'mon Jacob. Take them out!" Mira nervously commanded.

I shook my head, "These aren't like before. I can't handle these 'soldiers' right now." I grimly replied. I looked all around, but there was no alternate route. They slowly got closer, I could hear the other soldiers shaking in fear. A roaring inferno behind us and an army of super-soldiers in front. I looked around again but any options I had had been exhausted, except one. I pulled out some barrier crystals and formed a plan. "Mira, ready your gun."

Mira looked very confused, "There's too many of them! I wouldn't be able to take them all down."

"They're not your target." I showed her the barrier crystals, "These are."

"Barrier crystals? How are they going to help?" She frantically asked.

"If you were to shoot one of these with your stun gun, it should have created an area of effect and knock out many at once." I replied.

"That's just too convenient!" Mira exaggerated.

"Can you shoot them or not?" I impatiently asked. She nodded, "Okay good. I'm going to throw one, and when it's over a group of people you shoot it. Got it?" I directed. She nodded and readied her gun. I threw one over the crowd and Mira blasted it in mid-air. There was a bright flash followed by an explosion, and many of the attackers dropped. "Yes! It works!" I yelled. Mira glared at me, she figured out I had no idea what I was doing. Repeating the process we created a wide enough gap for us to flee. On my command everyone bolted through the gate and out of the burning town. Once we were out of harm's way we stopped and rested, tending to the injured.

We walked to the nearest town in silence. You could feel the uncertainty emanating from the betrayed soldiers. I felt sorry for them, Mira saw it on my face, "Jacob, you should say something to them. They've been through a lot in so little time, I'm sure you could help them by talking to them." She urged me to talk.

I nodded and stopped the group. I took a deep breath, "I can tell by just looking at you, you all feel betrayed and confused. Why is a Dragonkin, the supposed enemy, helping us? What's going to happen now?" They all looked at me. I could see that I was right. I continued, "I'll tell you why I helped you. It's because I went through a similar experience as you, especially what just recently happened to you." I told them about my story, starting off with becoming a Knight to obtaining a dragon's soul.

A soldier in the group raised a question, "Why didn't you go crazy when you absorbed the Dragonkin soul? Didn't you have trouble controlling it?"

"Like I said before, I was compatible. I could absorb a Dragonkin soul and not have any issues." My expression darkened. "However, I didn't absorb a Dragonkin soul. No, I absorbed something no man has ever been fully compatible with, a Dragon's soul. Before I was told what I had actually absorbed it was too late, my human soul had been devoured and I was next. It started eating me from the inside out." I took a deep breath and told them about the battle I had within my soul and how it ended. "Your prince lied to you. You're foolhardy decision to absorb a soul almost costed your own. But your will to stay in control gave me enough time to save you. I can tell that all of you will be fine, as long as you don't make the same mistake twice." A collective nod of agreement traveled throughout the men.

I turned around, "That was a little depressing." Mira commented. She smiled, "But it seemed to work anyway."

I nodded, "I guess it did." The rest of the trip was a bit livelier. The men started talking with each other, trying to make light of their situation. I had time to think, and when I did a worried expression would often pop up. Mira noticed and questioned me. "We're not out of the clear, not by a long shot. Those, 'infected' soldiers that attacked us will most likely head this way as well." I grimly replied.

"So?" Mira said. "We'll just take them out." She confidently responded. She examined me closely, "There's something else, isn't there?" She figured.

"Yes." I nodded. "I never saw the prince among the mindless mob that attacked."

"Well, he was probably hiding while his men destroyed the town." Mira suggested.

"But that'd also mean he still has control of his body." I stated. Mira cocked her head to the side, I continued, "This worries me. If he is just a regular human, his soul should've been devoured by now."

Mira offered a suggested explanation, "Maybe some people can maintain control better than others. Look the men you've saved, they were able to hold on while others had already begun transforming."

I thought about it; it definitely was the most likely possibility. However, I couldn't shake this feeling. Is it possible that he is also...no, the facts refute that possibility, but what if. I shook it off and continued towards the town. It seems that Tiny also had the same idea. I was greeted at the gate, with both hospitality and hostility. "Boss! You made it!" Tiny excitedly exclaimed. He walked up to me, "So, what happened?" He asked.

"Town was destroyed. Unfortunately, it's probably nothing but ash by now." I sadly reported. Tiny nodded slowly, and then noticed that the group behind me was wearing the enemies' armor and had them surrounded.

"I see you've captured quite a few of them. Good job Boss, we can take care of them from here." Tiny jumped the crossbow.

"Actually, they're not prisoners, they're victims." I protested.

"What?" Tiny exclaimed, "What do you mean by 'victims', Boss?" I explained to him what they have been through. "So you're saying that their leader had betrayed their trust, and that they've had a change of heart?"

"That about sums up their situation." I replied.

Tiny looked at the nervous looking group, then sighed, "I can't say that we don't relate. I can see why you did what you did." He told his men to stand down and lead the injured to the hospital. "So, what do we do now?"

"We prepare for the army of super soldiers coming our way. Some of them may be Dragonkin by now, tougher to deal with." I said.

Tiny ignored what I said and asked, "Didn't you say the town was burning when you got there?"

"It's a bit late to be talking about that. Besides, didn't you see the smoke bellowing out of the town?" I confusedly replied.

"You're right, I probably should have worded that differently. Anyway, the thing is, I didn't see any of the attackers use anything that could catch fire." We stood there, thinking about what would have caused this to happen. Tiny spoke up, "I just remembered something. There were a lot of reports of a..." There was a sudden distant roar, "roar." He finished.

"Get everyone ready!" I frantically said.

"What was that?" He replied.

"What do you think, the arsonist. Now hurry, get everyone ready. They're here." Tiny ran off to prepare the men, I flew off to stop our un-invited guest. I saw him flying towards the city from a mile away, a dragon. He didn't see me, so I flew towards him and charged, blindsiding him and forcing him to land.

"How dare you!" He snarled. "Do you know who you're dealing with, fool?"

"A giant prick that going to fall. I know who you are, and I'm pretty sure you know me." I taunted.

"I am the next ruler. I will rule this land with an iron fist, starting by killing all the weaklings!" He snarled, a crazed look in his eye.

"Committing mass genocide?" I angrily said. "I, Jacob, will put an end to your madness!" I drew my sword and attacked. A grin appeared on his face, and with quick reflexes he drew his large sword and blocked it. "What?" I said in astonishment.

"What'd you expect? An easy fight?" The prince laughed. I jumped back to avoid his next attack, then rolled to the left to avoid the next one. Despite his size, he was nearly as fast as I am, maybe even faster. I was stuck in a loop of dodging his attacks, never finding an opening. I had to get in close, so I took a risk and charged right at him. I caught him off guard and ran through his leg, slashing at his legs. However, when the blade struck his skin it seemed as if it bounced off, leaving only a scratch.

"Oh crap!" I exclaimed, realizing I was wide open for a hit. My foe smacked me aside. The hit was so powerful I swear I heard my bones break. "Agh!" I yelled as I was sent flying, landing on my back and sliding before stopping. I was too dazed to move, and I could hear him coming my way. I came to my senses and rolled out of the way from the 'would be' finishing blow. Quickly, and painfully, I got back up and went back to dodging. I wasn't doing too well, that hit I took hurt me more than I realized; I was barely able to keep up the pace.

My luck ran out, his sword struck me in the chest leaving a large gash. I fell backwards and started bleeding out. "Grah!" I heard my foe yell. I got up slightly, enough to see what's going on.

The prince was violently shaking, as if he had been hit by... "Jacob!" I knew it, I turned my head and saw Mira running in my direction. "Oh, gods. Jacob what happened?" Mira assessed my injuries, then took out a green crystal. "You're in luck. I was given this life crystal just in case you screwed up. It heals wounds, and even brings back the dead under certain conditions, but I'm sure you already knew that." She said with a smile. She reached for my chest, but suddenly stopped.

Time slowed down as I watched the sword impale her, the blood splattering on my face, the look of shock on hers. I saw the life drain from her eyes as she tried to utter my name. The sword withdrew from her body and she fell to the ground next to me. I got up and flipped her over, "Mira!" I called out. "Mira, get up!" No response. "No." I whimpered, "No...Mira. Dammit, get up! Please...get up." Tears filled my eyes.

The prince started laughing. "Aww, how touching. Morning your girlfriend already? Don't worry, you'll join her soon enough."

I was suddenly overcome by an uncontrollable rage. "You bastard!" I got up, clutching my chest. The blood loss was too much and I my vision started to blur, I had to stop the bleeding. I picked up my sword and put the hilt near my chest, I summoned fire and painfully cauterized the gash. "I...am going...to kill you!" I roared. My resolve seemed to give me strength, along with my burning rage.

"You think you still have a chance?" He scoffed. "There's no way you can match the strength of a dragon!" He swung down at me, I didn't move. Instead, I held out my hand and caught it, "What!" He said in astonishment. A golden aura began to surround me. He pulled back and swung again, and I deflected it.

I let out a low growl, a growl that wasn't mine. I roared and charged at him again and hit his leg, leaving a huge gash. He roared in pain and tried to swat me away. I thrusted my sword through his hand, the pain made him drop his sword. I slashed his other leg and brought him to his knees. I flew up and made a small gash near his heart, making sure not to hit it. I took out the soul absorbing crystal and jammed it into his body. He gripped his chest and started screaming and thrashing. The crystal started to glow and started absorbing the souls he had consumed. There was a bright flash, followed by a human like scream. "You're reign of terror ends now!" I yelled.

The prince had become human again. He glared at me, still clutching his chest, "Dammit...how...could I...lose. What...are...you?" These were his last words. The prince gave one final death scream as he was engulfed in a white light, vanishing before my eyes. All that was left was the glowing crystal floating in the air, I raised my sword and smashed the accursed thing.

"Mira." I gasped and ran to her. She was dead, lying in a pool of blood. I knelt down beside her, and started to cry. Then I noticed the life crystal still in her hand and I grasped it and put it to her chest. "Please work." I whispered. The crystal started glowing brightly, then started to disappear into her lifeless body. She was suddenly encased in a blinding green light. When it faded the wound in her chest had disappeared, and she was breathing again. "Mira?" I said.

She gasped for air and started to panic, but I calmed her down. "Jacob?" She looked surprised and confused, then she got up and wrapped her arms around me. "Is it over now? Have we won?"

"For the most part, we've won." I replied. Other than the army of soldiers, this war was over. The final battle was won, but we lost a lot of men. It took several weeks for the kingdom to recover. Many agree that this war was the worst in the kingdoms history, but at the same time it was the event that made the kingdom stronger. All of the races got along, at least a lot better than it used to be. Technology was improved, things like an upgrade to our mode of transportation and construction methods, I guess there's always a silver lining. The other members of the royal family were found locked in the castle's dungeon. My brother was in charge of the kingdom while the members were recovering, and when the time came he reformed the Knights. As for Mira and I, we now happily live together, living the life we wanted. I am Jacob, I was once human and a murderer. Now I'm a Dragonkin, and a hero.

**Author's final thoughts**

Well, it's finally done. I can't believe it went on as long as it did, but I persevered and finished it. Although the story is probably full of corny moments and has more plots holes than a Michigan road, I'm quite proud of it.


End file.
